Unintended
by Thinker
Summary: The five-year journey of a Digidestined lost to history! He was never supposed to come to the Digital World, but juvenile delinquent Jin Takamura is there anyway. When he learns of the other kids, he brutally takes down every digimon that gets in his way as he and his partner search for them. When he finally finds them he faces a choice: control his rage or be consumed by it.
1. Jin Blossoms

_(Note: This story takes place against the backdrop of events in "Digimon Adventure" seasons 1 and 2. This chapter takes place during Episodes 19 and 20 of season 1.)  
_

**"Unintended," Part 1**

**Jin Blossoms**

The sun was shining brightly overhead that day. It was hot, almost unbearably so, and no trees or even tall cacti grew in this barren wasteland of a desert. A few vultures flew here and there, but little else was alive in this place, so hostile was it to anything unfortunate enough to be there.

This was the great Desert of Server, the largest desert in the Digital World. Wary travelers usually avoided trekking across this forsaken realm at all costs. Rarely had anything tried to travel through this ghastly place. That's why it was extremely odd that two figures were walking steadily in a straight line across the sand that day.

The wind blew occasionally, and they shielded their faces from the oncoming sand. Diligently, the pair continued onward, neither one slowing for anything as they walked side by side.

The first figure was the shorter one. It was a small, lizard-like creature that walked on four wide-spread legs. It was all black, its scaly hide glossy and shiny, like oil. It had a stubby tail that swayed slightly from side to side as it walked. Its legs bowed out to the sides, but it moved easily, clearly capable of great speed. On each of its feet were three long, curved, and sharp white clawed toes. It had a boxy head, accented with some small bony spikes at the base of the skull, with big, all yellow eyes set forward and squinting in what looked like a perpetual scowl. It had two flaring nostrils in its snout and it was constantly sniffing the air, as if hunting something. The most threatening things about it, however, were its large jaws almost disproportionate to the rest of its body, filled with long, sharp teeth, arranged in a serrated pattern, like a bear trap. It was wearing a hard, almost cruel smile that showed its impressive teeth to the world, not that there was much of anyone to see it. He was a digimon.

The other figure was taller. He about five feet tall, which was a decent size for an eleven-year-old of his species. He had black, leather hiking boots on. He was wearing gray cotton cargo slacks with several pockets in the legs that were slightly frayed at the cuffs and a plain black cotton t-shirt. His hair was jet black and it was intentionally styled to be short and spiky. Over his gray eyes he wore chrome-rimmed sunglasses. His face was stern and humorless. At his hip, clipped onto his pants, was a small, electric device with odd symbols inscribed on it. His arms swung freely at his side, but his hands were clenched into tiny fists. He was a human.

"Do you think those Koromon were lying?" the boy asked.

"Nah, they wouldn't have dared lie to us!" said the digimon. "If they had tried it, they know we would've used them as soccer balls! They were too scared to lie."

"Yeah, you're right," the boy agreed, grinning slightly. "Those things were so jumpy."

"Probably due to that Etemon guy, whoever he is," the digimon commented.

"Who cares? The point is they saw those other kids we heard about, and if they went in this direction, we can catch up to them if we just keep walking. We've got no choice, really, they might be my best chance of getting back home."

"Yeah, where did you say you were from again, Jin?" asked the digimon.

"From Earth. From a country named Japan, Scarmon," replied the boy.

* * *

His name was Jin Takamura. He was a juvenile delinquent, a poor student, and considered a nuisance to well-mannered, upstanding citizens. He went to school infrequently, got in fights occasionally, and spent his time either working on mechanical things in his garage or making money off of other kids by playing cards.

His father was… well, nobody really knew anything about where his father was. The guy left when he was a baby and never came around again, so Jin took that as a good indication that "Dear Ol' Dad" didn't want the job. When he was little and the other kids asked him what his daddy did, he replied, "I don't know and I don't care." Some of the kids made fun of him for that. But when people heard that one of those bullies took a nasty fall down some stairs at school and Jin was seen at the top of those stairs, smiling, the jokes stopped.

His mother was a waitress and a single parent. She rarely had time to pay attention to her troubled son and tried to participate in his life, but the older he got, the less she saw him, and the less he wanted to see her. Whenever he got in trouble, she would always shout, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" But if he felt shame, he never showed it. She told him that his father was a rotten guy and if he didn't listen to her, he would turn out the same way. And so she typically did things Jin regarded as stupid, like forcing him to participate in something "wholesome" or "productive," which usually meant that he hated it and ended up getting mad at her. She usually responded by saying that it was for his own good. In fact, that was what she said about summer camp.

"You'll have fun, Jin," she said. "There's woodshop and hiking and lots of other things I know you'll love. And don't even tell me you're not going, I've already paid for it, made the arrangements, and told all your friends' parents that they aren't to let your friends do anything with you if you refuse. It's for your own good, son."

"Eat death," Jin muttered.

"What?" she demanded sharply. She met her son's hard gaze and momentarily raised her hand, as if to strike him, barely stopping herself from following through. "You... you ought to be-"

"Forget it. I'll go pack," he relented, and turned to go.

So he had gone to summer camp. To his amazement, he had actually found several things he could do there to have fun.

Such as chasing the younger kids around with a buzz saw in woodshop. True he'd been confined to his cabin for an hour to think about what he did, but it was worth it. He saw some kid wearing glasses almost get his fingers cut off by some kid in a green shirt and hat before he left and was still laughing about it a half hour later, thinking about the look on his face.

He was also doing very well as a card player, as he scored some serious scratch from his richer cabin mates. Of course, things might have gotten even better if it hadn't snowed suddenly. That was a major pain he could have easily done without.

He didn't mind the cold, even if it was the beginning of August. He minded the fact that a councilor came into his cabin and got everyone in a circle to start a sing along. Jin listened to one chorus of "Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts" and snuck out of there as fast as he could. He decided to walk up to one of the other cabins. There was some weird light in the sky and he wanted to get a better look at it from there. Maybe he could score some more cash, provided the kids there were as eager and as inexperienced as his cabin mates.

He was nearing the cabin when he saw a huge swirling vortex appear in the sky. From it shot seven small objects, they looked to him like little comets. They all struck somewhere in front of the cabin and he heard the awed cries of the residents as they examined them. He was rushing up to meet them and see for himself what had happened when, seemingly out of nowhere, a small object was propelled into the snow at his feet, causing him to stagger back as snow exploded into his face.

He picked up the strange object and examined it. It was small, metallic, and it was oddly shaped. Somewhat square, but with several curves as well. It looked like a stopwatch to Jin.

"Interesting," he said as the thing beeped softly. That was when he was overcome by a gigantic blue wave that he could only react to with a startled expression and a stream of profanity.

When he awoke, a small gray creature was nudging him. It was round, with big orange eyes and several small teeth that jutted out of its mouth. It looked kind of dangerous, so Jin did what he considered to be a logical thing: he kicked it and told it to scram. That's when it started talking to him. It said its name was Yamimon. It said it had been waiting for him. It knew his name.

Soon afterward, the small thing changed into a new form. It "digivolved" into Scarmon. The two of them set out to explore File Island, Jin wondering what exactly this all meant, but in the meantime enjoying no school and a little buddy that was as ready for a fight as he was. They messed around for a while, bowling with these radish-shaped things called Yokomon, giving Frigimon a hotfoot, and chasing Numemon around with some of the salt Jin smuggled from camp. Life was sweet.

Then the island had broken up and digimon showed up with black gears in them and Scarmon had needed to digivolve a couple of times and stomp them into the ground. That's when he first heard from some big yellow thing and his mouse-like companion: there were other humans there.

"One was real pretty," recalled the one called Sukamon.

"Where are they?" inquired Jin.

"They got on a raft and they're going to Server, across the ocean. You'll need to catch up with them," replied the small one, Chumon.

So, Jin figured out where they left from and in what direction they were going in, and got himself his own raft. Of course, he needed to catch up, so he found some Divermon to assist in a nearby bay. They were a little resistant at first, but a digivolved version of Scarmon was all it took to convince them that it was in their best interests to comply with Jin's request that they tow him across the ocean.

Only later did they find out about Etemon, Whamon helping the others, and the term "Digidestined." The Koromon had told him about that, and they said that since he had one of those "digivices," he must be one too. They said something about tags and crests, too, but all he really cared about was finding the other Digidestined and joining with them. They seemed to know what they were doing, and that could mean that they held the answer to getting home. And as much fun as the Digital World was, it was also getting pretty dangerous, and he sure didn't want to stay there for the rest of his life. So, he wandered off into the desert after them, not knowing if he would ever find them.

* * *

That was their current situation: a boy and his digimon searching for their companions. How he had missed them on File Island was a mystery to him, but the important thing was that he was only a day behind them and would soon find them.

"You feeling okay?" Jin asked of his panting digital companion.

"I'm a nocturnal digimon, I'm cold-blooded, and I'm in blistering heat under a blazing mid-day sun," snarled Scarmon. "Do you _think _I'm feeling okay?"

"Just asking," Jin said coldly. "Excuse me for caring."

Scarmon bowed his head. "Sorry, Jin; it's just the heat talking," he apologized.

"No problem." He let it go easily. He liked his digimon a lot. He was a lot more fun than any human he had ever met. He was like the vicious dog he'd never had, which was made even cooler by the fact that he could talk. He had someone who liked a good fight as much as him and, unlike the few "friends" he had, was loyal enough to never abandon him in a fight. Best of all, he listened. When he said something, expressed an opinion, or asked a question, he got a real response, with no insincerity or judgment. He was getting really attached to the little guy.

He wondered what the other kids would be like. If they were anything like the other kids he knew, he'd have them all scared and respecting him in no time. Something like his own gang of digital rabble-rousers. And if they all got home together, and with their digimon by their sides?

The possibilities were endless.

Two questions were on his mind, however: What was he doing in the Digital World, and how could he get home?

"Hey, what's that?" Scarmon asked, stopping and looking off to the north.

Jin also stopped and turned to look. Off in the distance, barely poking up above the horizon were several structures. He couldn't quite make them out, so he began walking towards them to get a closer look.

When they got nearer, they saw that the structures were a set of old, crumbling ruins. They looked vaguely Roman, although it was certain that no Romans had ever ventured into the Digital World. As they came closer, laughter could be heard.

"This way," whispered Jin, motioning Scarmon to follow him quietly as he snuck towards the entrance to the ruins.

They peered inside. The stone ruins were adorned with several columns, some still standing, but most toppled. There was a gaping hole in the ceiling that let a ray of desert sun in. Piles of rubble littered the floor. And in the corner, three figures laughed harshly, their voices loud, thinking no one was there to hear them.

"What are they?" Jin asked Scarmon in a whisper.

"Gazimon," Scarmon replied. "If they're like any others I've met, it's a good bet they're sleazebags."

One of the Gazimon laughed suddenly. "Yeah, I know he can't sing for beans, but, hey, he pays pretty well."

"Yeah, as long as Etemon doesn't come out here, guarding these lousy rocks isn't such a bad job!" agreed another.

Jin grinned. "So, they work for the guy hunting the other Digidestined," he remarked quietly. "Guess by default that makes us enemies."

"Sleazebags. Called it! Think I oughta?" asked Scarmon.

"Flush 'em out first," ordered Jin as he made a fist. "I want to take one down this time."

"You got it, buddy," Scarmon complied. Then he quietly stalked into the ruins, keeping his claws from clicking on the stone floor. He crept along the walls, staying in the shadows, to avoid detection, hunting like the natural-born predator he was.

Getting within ten feet of the small, gray creatures Scarmon readied himself. "Hey! Bunnies!" he yelled. The three of them whirled around in surprise. _"Plasma Fire!"_ Scarmon attacked, spitting a small green fireball into one of them, causing him to stagger back and fall.

The other two were quick to react. _"Electric Stun Blast!"_ they said, each firing a beam of electricity at the short, black reptile. Scarmon was ready for them and with surprising speed and agility leaped out of the way and took off running for the exit. The two remaining Gazimon pursued him.

Scarmon led the Gazimon out the exit, where Jin was hiding nearby. As the two ran out, he followed, unseen behind one. "Silly rabbit," laughed Jin, punting the surprised, lagging Gazimon high into the air, "tricks are for kids!" The small digimon landed roughly, disoriented, thirty yards away onto the desert sand.

The remaining, confused Gazimon spun around, unsure which enemy to attack. Both the boy and Scarmon were a threat, but he didn't know which was the more dangerous of the two. Jin didn't give him any time to form any deep conclusions. "Do it, Scarmon," Jin said, his grin widening as he held out his digivice.

Scarmon began to glow. His form began to melt and reshape, growing larger. Growing _much _larger.

_"Scarmon digivolve to…"_ he said, taking on his new form. When he appeared, the Gazimon's eyes grew wide with fear as he felt his blood turn to water.

_"…Venomon!"_ the new creature finished, announcing his presence. He was still black as midnight, still vicious and intimidating, but now stood fifteen feet tall on two powerful saurian legs, with three curving claws on each foot, one for each toe. His tail was now whip-like, and a single, white stinger twitched at the tip. His neck was long and curved upward, giving him a serpentine look. He had shorter arms, but they were also armed with long, deadly claws. His head was now long and narrow and lined with saw-like teeth, accented with two upwardly curving fangs jutting from the front of his lower jaw. He grinned fiendishly, menacingly at the terrified Gazimon. Lean and slender, but powerful and obviously unfriendly, this Champion digimon was like something out of Gazimon's nightmares.

"You're dead, hairball," laughed Jin, shaking his head.

_"Venom Spit!"_ attacked Venomon, launching a massive glob of caustic poison at the small rookie. Gazimon barely got out a single scream as he was blasted by the deadly venom and was deleted.

"I'm coming guys!" cried the first, injured Gazimon, running out of the ruins blindly to join his comrades. When he arrived on the scene, he also froze in his tracks.

"What do you think?" asked Venomon, his voice a hissing growl.

"I don't know," said Jin. "Hey, Gazimon, you look like you're in shape. Hardly any fat on your body, right?"

Gazimon looked at him blankly, still trembling with fear. Then, ever so slightly, he nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," said Jin. "Okay, you heard him," he called to his digimon. "Looks like he's nutritious."

"Huh?" asked the Gazimon in a small voice. A second later a massive pair of jaws snatched him into the air as he screamed.

Jin walked over the final Gazimon. He was trying to get up, but Jin put his heavy, booted foot on his back and pressed him into the sand. "No, I don't think you can leave yet, Floppy Ears. I've got some things to ask you first, if you don't mind."

Both Jin and Gazimon turned as they heard a crunch and Venomon let out a huge, reverberating belch. "Pardon me," said Venomon.

"You're excused," said Jin, smiling as the final Gazimon screamed.

"What about him?" asked Venomon, walking over to them.

"As I was telling our friend here, I have a few questions to ask before we leave," Jin replied. "Starting with this one: Where are the Digidestined?"

* * *

**At that moment:**

Matt looked down at Tai, who was curled up in a tight little ball. "I don't get it," he said. "When the creep grabbed Sora, why didn't you go after them?"

"I couldn't," Tai said, his voice cracking. "I couldn't. Sora… it's all my fault!"

The other five members of the team looked down as Tai began to sob, torn apart by the guilt of his own cowardice.

* * *

"No, I can't!" said Gazimon, still resisting Jin's question. "I cannot betray Lord Etemon! He's our leader, he's my master, and he'd kill me if I told you anything!"

"See that's funny," laughed Jin, "because I don't think that he should be your main concern right now. I'd think you would worry about your present situation more."

"Yeah," agreed Venomon, "especially since you guys taste like chicken!"

Gazimon let out another horrified scream, which Jin cut short with a sharp punch to its head.

"Knock that off. Answer the question and I'll let you go," growled Jin. "Either that, or my partner has you for desert."

Gazimon swallowed, then blurted out, "They're somewhere near the Great Pyramid! It's about fifteen miles that way!"

He pointed with one clawed finger. It was in a direction far removed from the direction that they had been traveling.

"You aren't lying to me now, are you?" asked Jin seriously.

"No," Gazimon said.

"Are you?" demanded Jin grinding his foot harder into Gazimon's back.

"No! NO! It's true, we got the message from the Dark Network e-mail earlier today! I swear!"

Jin let up his foot, letting the shaken Gazimon stand. "Okay, I'll let you go," he muttered.

"Thank you," said Gazimon, bowing graciously as he began to back away. "Thank—"

It was then that Venomon's tremendous foot came down on him, crushing him deep into the ground.

"Now, what did you do that for?" Jin asked. "I said I'd let him go."

"You didn't say _I _had to let him go," Venomon replied with a grin.

"Hmm, fair enough. Let's go." With that, Venomon de-digivolved and Scarmon once again followed Jin as they walked in the direction of their unknown companions.

* * *

"Where are we?" Jin asked.

"Beats me," Scarmon said. "Looks like some kind of animal graveyard."

Jin stood for a moment, surveying his surroundings. All around him were bones, littering the desert in huge piles. Some were intact skeletons, kept intact and stretched across the harsh sand. Others were mere fragments, solitary bones strewn about without any real proximity to a whole set. Jin especially noted the immense ribcage that was lying ahead of them. The silence of the place was a little eerie, and it wasn't helped by the occasional sound of grains of sand blowing against dry, white ivory.

"Let's keep going," Jin said. "After all, they're just bones, they can't hurt us."

Scarmon took a few steps, then raised his head curiously. "Hey, Jin, do you hear that?"

"What?" he asked. Then, straining his ears, he heard a loud buzzing sound that emanated from somewhere above him. He shielded his eyes as he stared directly overhead. It was hard to see, since the sun was shining in his face, but he could make out a tiny black dot in the sky. Soon, that dot was coming very close to them, and it wasn't looking so tiny anymore.

A huge insectoid digimon was bearing down on them and they hit the ground as fast as they could, narrowly avoiding the creature's divebomb. With loud, roaring wings, it set down in front of them.

"What the heck is that?" demanded Jin, standing up as he brushed sand off the front of his shirt.

"I," answered the creature, "am DinoBeemon! And you are trespassing here."

The creature was massive. It was hunched over, but was still thirty feet above the ground. It had four long wings that probably stretched 80 feet from tip-to-tip. Its head was green and shell-like, as was its torso and legs. Spikes protruded from its neck. It had two long, blue, scaly arms and a tail to match. Its eyes were a shiny, menacing red.

Jin and Scarmon stared up at the creature defiantly. "Who owns this boneyard?" asked Jin. "I didn't see a sign that said 'No Trespassing,' and what kind of an idiot would claim this dump as his own?"

"This kind!" answered DinoBeemon, pointing to himself proudly. He growled as Jin and Scarmon chuckled at the newly made "idiot."

"Listen," Jin began, "we've got stuff to take care of, we aren't staying long—"

"Yes you are," DinoBeemon said. "You're never leaving."

Scarmon looked at Jin, flashing a toothy grin. "Can I?"

"No problem," said Jin. "Swat this fly and let's get going."

Scarmon digivolved to Venomon and snarled menacingly and the tremendous insect.

"Is that supposed to frighten me?" DinoBeemon laughed. "You don't have the power to defeat me. I will show you why I am king of this land."

_"Venom Spit!"_ Venomon attacked. DinoBeemon was in the air instantly, dodging the attack skillfully with amazing speed. Now above him, he began to create a high-intensity buzz with his wings.

_"Irritant Buzz!"_ attacked DinoBeemon. The vibratons radiated down upon Venomon, who howled in sudden pain as his whole body was stung. Writhing around for a moment, he glowed and de-digivolved in an instant.

"What happened?" Jin asked, running over to his defeated partner.

"That attack… it sucked my energy away," Scarmon responded.

Jin looked up and saw DinoBeemon coming down on them. He reacted quickly and snatched up Scarmon, running out of the way with him. DinoBeemon crashed into the ground a second later, obliterating the place they had stood in seconds ago. DinoBeemon roared in anger as he struggled to free himself from the soft sand he had partially buried himself in while Jin and Scarmon ran.

"You know, if a month ago someone had told me I would be running from the unholy lovechild of a dinosaur and a wasp, I would've called them a nut and broken their face!" remarked Jin as he ran.

"Yeah, funny how life turns out," Scarmon answered weakly from under his arm. "But hey, if he eats us, it _is, _technically, the law of the food chain in action."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Jin asked incredulously. "I don't care about the food chain so long as we're on top of it! You chowing down on a Gazimon is one thing; bug-face back there is another."

Behind them, DinoBeemon broke free and shot up into the air. He then set his sights on his two targets, who were feebly trying to escape. There was nowhere they could hide. They were doomed. He swooped at them for the kill, his clawed hand ready to strike.

As Jin ran, his face streamed with sweat and hearing certain death closing in behind him, he closed his eyes, knowing full well that he could be breathing his last breath.

But just before the monster's claw tore through him and Scarmon like tissue paper, just before the fatal strike came, the ground gave out beneath Jin and Scarmon. With an abrupt, startled yell, Jin tumbled down a long hole, hitting hard ground and rolling deeper and deeper into the dark underground chamber.

DinoBeemon peered down the hole, frustrated that his prey had eluded him. "No matter," he said. "They've got to come out sooner or later. And when they do, they'll have nowhere else to run to."

* * *

Jin was in total darkness. His head hurt and he felt dizzy. The air was cooler here, out of the desert sun, but he was unsure just where he was. He felt like he had fallen a long way, so he might be very far underground. Then again, the ground still felt soft and a little muddy, so he couldn't be too far down or else it would be rock. Wouldn't it?

He couldn't think. He couldn't stand up and when he checked, Scarmon was out cold. Finally, surrendering to the blackness, he let himself lose consciousness as well.

If he had stayed awake a little longer, he would have heard the approach of soft footsteps and a harsh voice say, "Oh no. I don't believe it. It's _him."_

* * *

Jin awoke and found himself in a strange bed in a strange room. There were no windows and the walls were white and bare. Wooden rafters and beams lined the walls and the floor looked to be made of stones. On a cushion near the bed, Scarmon was asleep, his legs kicking periodically in his sleep.

"Wonder what he's doing," Jin wondered quietly. In truth, Scarmon was dreaming of making sandwiches out of Otamamon, but it hardly mattered because, at that moment, an old man walked into the room. His eyes were sunken and tired, his skin was pale and wrinkly and his face was lined with white stubble. He wore a moth-eaten white and brown robe that looked to Jin like something a monk or fantasy wizard would wear.

"Ah, you're awake," said the old man, not sounding entirely pleased with this.

"Who are you?" Jin asked. "A human?"

"I'm not of your world, no. And my name is not important, and if you venture out in the world again, I would appreciate you not mentioning my name to anyone anyway," answered the man.

"Okay, Mr. X," said Jin.

"Mr. X?" asked the old man.

"Well, it's your choice, I can call you Mr. X or I can call you Old Dude," Jin chuckled.

"Yes. 'Old Dude.' Very amusing," he said, not sounding the slightest bit amused.

"Well, anyway, this is Scarmon and I'm—"

"Jin Takamura of Tokyo, age 11," finished Mr. X. "Hobbies include gambling, fighting, arson, theft, and mechanics. Father unknown, mother is Fuyuko Takamura, only child."

"You sound like you're reciting," said Jin, trying to sound undaunted.

"I am," said Mr. X. "I memorized your file, young Mr. Takamura."

Scarmon awoke at this point and asked, "Hey, who's the prune?"

"That's Mr. X, Scarmon," answered Jin. "Apparently he knows us."

"That I do," commented Mr. X. "Come with me to my study. I have some things I must tell you."

The study was a larger room in this strange underground house. Its walls were lined with shelves that were filled with all sorts of ancient texts, each preserved with the utmost care. Mr. X. was looking over some yellow-paged tome for a minute, then he put it away and proceeded to tell his story.

"I am a being similar to a human, but digital in nature. We are known as 'Bitmen.' I was once a member of a group known as the Guardians. Our task was to monitor the forces of Light and Darkness, or, that is, good and evil, in the Digital World. The balance had been upset somehow and we were desperate to set things right again. Darkness was overwhelming the world, threatening everything in existence. We were unsure of what to do until something quite amazing happened. A digiegg from our world reached earth. That egg hatched and a digimon was born. It soon digivolved with the help of two of your world's children. That digimon became locked in a struggle with another that also crossed into your world. This happened at a place called Heighten View Terrace."

"Hey, I used to live there when I was a kid," remarked Jin nostalgically. "For a little while, just when I was about—"

"Seven years old," finished Mr. X. "You witnessed the battle that night, Jin, whether you remember it or not."

"I— can't remember," said Jin, scratching his head.

"Well, you were there," continued Mr. X. "And we scanned you as well as eight other children who witnessed the battle. Some inner quality you had made you candidates for compatibility with a digimon. That's the way in which the Digidestined were chosen. However, you were set apart from the group in one important way."

"What way?" asked Jin.

"You were a rotten, mean, angry kid with not much going for you."

Jin glared at him. "Yeah, well, at least I've still got my youth," Jin snapped. "You may want to hurry up this story before you need to change your diapers, old man."

Mr. X scowled back at him, but he continued.

"In the others, there were noble, pronounced qualities that were perfect for raising good, kind digimon. Courage, Friendship, Reliability, Sincerity, Knowledge, Love, Hope, and even Light itself. These virtues were harmonious when combined. For these children that would one day be the Digidestined, digivices were created, as well as Crests that would allow these traits to be harnessed for their energy. And with that energy, their digimon would become mighty warriors to combat the forces of evil that threatened the Digital World.

"In your case, however, while we did detect compatibility, we also learned that your most pronounced trait was Rage."

"Rage?" echoed Jin.

"Yes, boy, Rage," said Mr. X. "And that kind of trait was only conducive to a virus-type digimon."

"Huh?" Jin asked.

"All digimon can be classified according to Data, Virus, or Vaccine," explained Mr. X. "It's a matter of configuration, really. Vaccine digimon were well-suited to fighting the forces of evil, to neutralize the malignant digimon, most of which were Viruses, that plague the Digiworld. A Virus usually tends to be more aggressive and mean-spirited in nature. There are exceptions, benign Virus types, of course, but your digimon is... well, not quite evil, but I wouldn't say 'benign,' exactly."

Scarmon looked up at Jin and smiled mischievously. "So Scarmon's a Virus digimon?" asked Jin.

"Yes. You see, we had planned on disregarding your information and avoiding creating a digimon for you, relying instead on the other eight. You were deemed ill-suited to the task of fighting against evil, for your nature could itself turn evil. You were to be discarded, unworthy of being a Digidestined. However, at the time, I argued that the forces of darkness might be fought against by unleashing a similar dark force to combat it. To fight fire with fire, so to speak. After all, what better weapon to unleash against savage forces than something equally savage, or so I argued. So, as a backup plan, we created the digiegg that would eventually become Scarmon, which we knew to be one of the more vicious and aggressive digimon. Even for a rookie, he is quite a formidable fighter and his digivolved forms are likewise quite powerful."

"Rookie?" asked Jin.

"A kind of level of evolution," answered Mr. X. "Your digimon is at the Rookie stage, the stage when it has its first individual attack. When he digivolves, he becomes Venomon, at the Champion level. That creature you ran into, DinoBeemon, was at the Ultimate level. He is simply too advanced for you to fight and win."

"So what do we do?" asked Jin.

"I'll get to that," Mr. X said impatiently. "Well, as time went on, we suspected that our backup plan would never be necessary and we guessed that you would not be included among the Digidestined. However, we were attacked and I feared that the other digieggs would be destroyed, so I escaped with Scarmon's egg, believing it to be the last hope of the Digiworld. I took it to File Island, a balanced and ideal environment for it to grow to maturity, and left it and the digivice there. The digivice was programmed to ferry you here when the time was right. It was only later that I learned that the other digieggs were also liberated and that the other Digidestined children had arrived. I believe another Guardian is assisting them and has survived as well. As for me, I dwell beneath this boneyard to hide from the forces of evil, but that monster, DinoBeemon, is both my watchdog and my jailer. Nobody is willing to risk trespassing here, but neither is it safe for me to leave. I must rely on the underground caverns and wildlife for survival. If you wish to leave here, you will have to confront him."

"How?" asked Jin. "You said we couldn't beat him."

"Well, this brings me to the matter of your crest," said Mr. X. "You see, when I left the egg on File Island, I still was unsure of the wisdom of allowing you something that would give you the power of an Ultimate level digimon. I decided it might be better to let you deal with the limited power you were given until such a time as you were responsible. Now you are here and it is obvious you need it."

Mr. X reached into his robe and removed a tag with a crest on it, hung on a cord. The crest was black with a red symbol resembling a fire on it. "This is the Crest of Rage," explained Mr. X. "When that trait is fully present in you, Venomon should be able to digivolve further. You'll need it, I'm afraid, if you're going to survive."

"Thanks," said Jin, accepting the Crest.

"Don't thank me," Mr. X snapped. "You're here because of a mistake. You're unintended. You aren't supposed to be here. You are merely a loose cannon with a malformed destiny. Fight evil... bah! I'm giving you this because it will help you survive long enough to meet up with the other Digidestined. It would be for your own good," he said, and Jin suddenly found himself remembering his mother. "Perhaps they can do something to curb that attitude of yours," Mr. X continued, "or at least help to get you out of this world before you start causing even more chaos."

Jin stood and stared at Mr. X for a minute. He noticed the bitter look in his eyes and his age-worn face. "You know what Mr. X?" he asked. "You're about as charming as a poisonous snake and just as good-looking, too. Thanks for your help, but I hope you don't take it the wrong way if I tell you that I hope I never see you again."

"The feeling is completely mutual," Mr. X replied, and showed them the way out.

* * *

**At that moment:**

They watched in awe at the sight before them. Etemon was entangled in his own dark network, a mass of black cables feeding his already great power. Facing him down was the newly digivolved MetalGraymon.

"Is there no end to your stupidity?" laughed Etemon. "Well, I'll end it for ya! _Dark Network!"_

He shot a hurled a ball of energy at MetalGraymon expecting it to finish him off. Instead, with a single slash of his claw, MetalGraymon halted and dissipated the attack.

Etemon gulped. "Well, that was just a joke!" he laughed nervously. MetalGraymon responded by ramming him headfirst, causing him to fly backwards.

"Ow! Hey, don't you know the rules? There's no head-butting allowed!" Etemon said.

"Finish him, MetalGraymon, while we still have the power!" Tai shouted over the roar of the wind drawn in by the destructive network.

_"Giga Blaster!"_ MetalGraymon attacked, sending two deadly missiles at his adversary. The weapons hit home, causing the network to explode with tremendous force.

"No!" Etemon cried. "You must not destroy me! I'm just too important to diiiie…" His rant was cut short as he was sucked into a swirling vortex and, presumably, into oblivion.

Tai had no time to celebrate his victory, however, as the tug of the vortex began to pull him, sliding across the sand, towards it as well. MetalGraymon put his claw down, stopping him from sliding further as he tried to drag him back to safety.

"Don't let go of me, MetalGraymon!" Tai yelled over the vortex's now deafening roar. However, there was nothing the gigantic saurian digimon could do as he too was caught in the pull of the vortex. The two of them yelled as they were raised up and sucked into the swirling portal. Moments later, the vortex vanished.

"Tai!" his companions cried from a distance away.

"Come back!" Sora shouted desperately. But there was nothing. Only the silence of the desert was there to answer.

* * *

A boulder stood amid the bones in the graveyard. At first, there was no movement. Then, with a hiss, the boulder was lifted up on hydraulic arms. From an underground staircase, Jin and Scarmon emerged.

"Jeez!" Jin exclaimed, blinking in the sudden brightness. He put on his sunglasses as Scarmon shielded his eyes with one clawed arm.

"So, how do you feel?" asked Scarmon.

"Fine," Jin said curtly.

"Are you sure?" Scarmon inquired. "I mean, you have every right to be mad about this."

"I'm _fine,"_ he said. "Drop it."

"No problem," Scarmon relented.

"We better hurry," said Jin. "The sun's going to set soon. I'd prefer to find those other kids before it gets dark."

"Too bad," said another voice suddenly. Jin turned around to see DinoBeemon descending upon them. "Because you aren't going anywhere. Your journey ends now and your bones will be the sole reminder that you were ever here at all!"

"Scarmon!—"

"I'm way ahead of you," Scarmon said. _"Scarmon digivolve to… Venomon!"_

Venomon readied himself for the battle, standing ready to strike or to dodge. DinoBeemon hovered in the air, also preparing to make a move.

_"Hell Masquerade!"_ attacked DinoBeemon first, blasting a mask-shaped ball of fire from his own masked, insectoid face. Venomon tried to dodge but had no time and was burned by the attack.

_"Venom Spit!"_ he countered, blasting a huge gob of the green venom onto his enemy. DinoBeemon grunted in pain, but it was clearly not powerful enough to hurt him severely.

"Okay, this isn't working!" yelled Jin. "Digivolve again! We've got the crest, so do it!"

"I'm trying, but I can't do it!" said Venom, frustrated. DinoBeemon body-checked him, sending him onto his back. "You've got to activate it, Jin! Get mad!"

"What are you talking about?" demanded Jin as Venomon got up, only to slashed at by DinoBeemon's claws. "Don't I look mad? Trust me, I'm furious!"

"Well, can't you get madder?" asked Venomon, taking more hits from DinoBeemon, who was now enjoying thrashing his foe.

"I'm getting more pissed off by the second!" shouted Jin. "Now quit being a wuss and digivolve!"

DinoBeemon blasted him with another Hell Masquerade and Venomon hit the ground hard.

"That was unbelievably easy," laughed DinoBeemon. "You pathetic fools. I'll put you out of your misery permanently this time." He placed his foot on Venomon's neck, preparing to snap it.

Just then, a rock hit him in the head. He turned to see Jin tossing more of the small stones.

"What are you doing?" asked DinoBeemon, annoyed.

"I'm throwing rocks at you," replied Jin. "Why do you care, frog bait?"

DinoBeemon took a step toward the human boy, who was a fraction of his size. Jin stood his ground. "You'd better run," DinoBeemon threatened.

"I'm not running anywhere," Jin said. "I'm not dying like that. I'm not going to give up. I'm not going to die running away from some giant bug with an attitude problem in a world where I wasn't even supposed to be!"

"You're a fool," DinoBeemon proclaimed coldly. "If you don't run, I'll kill you on the spot."

"Come and get me," taunted Jin, gritting his teeth, flinging another rock with all his might. "I don't even care anymore. I'm not going to die in the middle of this desert like a coward," he shouted, his voice intensifying, echoing over the dry desert plain, "just because some wrinkled prunes _thought_ I had a destiny, but only made a _mistake!" _His eyes were wild, and that last word was a fierce, animalistic howl.

To both Jin and DinoBeemon's surprise, the crest he wore around his neck began to glow.

And as it glowed, so did Venomon, who stood up behind DinoBeemon. _"Venomon digivolve to…"_

Venomon shifted, his form growing larger, stronger, and much more lethal. In his new form, Venomon was twice his normal size and he was covered with massive, white bones that plated his body like armor. He looked like the specter of Death itself. His eyes glowed green from within his helmet-like skull. His arms and legs were equipped with long, powerful claws and his joints had sharp, bony protrusions on them. His spine and tail were likewise covered in bone and his tail had spines on the side that made it look like a particularly deadly battle axe.

_"...SkullVenomon!"_ the new digimon roared.

"What is—" DinoBeemon began. He was cut off, though, as SkullVenomon slashed brutally at his face with his right claw. DinoBeemon staggered back and Jin ran out of the way as the fight continued.

"Don't think you are saved," DinoBeemon said, taking to the air. "I will simply force you to de-digivolve! _Irritant Buzz!"_

The stinging buzz from his wings that had de-digivolved Venomon before blasted down on SkullVenomon. However, with his bony armor, the attack was largely blocked. Then, his eyes fierce, SkullVenomon made his move.

_"Nightmare Scream!"_ SkullVenomon attacked. A long, spiraling black tornado emanated from his jaws, blasting DinoBeemon with full force. The main column of central energy blasted him backwards and the spiraling motion on the outside of the attack thrashed him repeatedly, breaking his shell-like body and tearing holes in his wings. With those gone, he fell to the earth, landing with an immense crash that shook the ground. SkullVenomon went over to his fallen enemy and put his bony foot on him in victory.

"Weakling," he muttered.

Jin walked over to the fallen DinoBeemon, who looked at him with pain. "Well, looks like we win," smiled Jin.

"I am beaten," acknowledged DinoBeemon with gasping breath. "You may pass. However, I will be ready for you next time!"

Jin and SkullVenomon exchanged glances and let out a mutual laugh. "What is it?" DinoBeemon asked.

"'Next time?'" said Jin, shaking his head as he continued to laugh. "Now that's funny. We don't really _do_ next times."

DinoBeemon's eyes widened with fear. "No," he said. "I- I surrender! I am beaten. I am helpless. You're a Digidestined! I'm no threat to you now! You can't! That's not fair! DigiDestined are the good guys-"

"I'm not a Digidestined," Jin sneered coldly. "I'm a mistake. Always was, always will be, it looks like. I'm not supposed to be here. But I am anyway. So, here's something I've learned: life isn't fair. Sometimes you get lucky and you live another day. And others… well," he grinned cruelly, "you get squished like a bug."

Taking his cue, SkullVenomon stomped hard on the fallen DinoBeemon, crushing him underfoot with a sickening crunch. DinoBeemon gave one final shout of agony before he was deleted.

SkullVenomon de-digivolved back into Yamimon, Scarmon's in-training form. "Welcome back, little guy," Jin said, picking him up. "Now, let's find those other Digidestined."

* * *

Jin stood there, surveying the scene of destruction. Rubble was everywhere. What once was a pyramid was now a pile of stone scattered about the desert. Burn marks were everywhere and, if Jin guessed right, a lot of this destruction was recent. This was definitely the place, but, there was one problem.

No Digidestined. They were gone. The sun was going down and a cold wind was beginning to blow from the north. "No one's here," said Yamimon.

"I noticed," Jin sighed bitterly. "We missed them."

"What do we do now?" asked Yamimon. Jin was silent. He walked around, silently, his face hard and eyes burning. Then, suddenly, he stopped.

"What is it, Jin?" asked Yamimon.

"Look what we've got here," said Jin. He pointed to the ground and Yamimon saw. Footprints. And they didn't belong to any digimon. They were shaped like Jin's. They were human footprints. And that meant only one thing:

"The other Digidestined," he grinned. "Come on, buddy. We're going to meet these kids and see if they've got an opening for a new teammate."

Chuckling harshly, the two of them walked on into the night as the sun set and the wind became a cold howl.

**To be continued…**

_(In the next part, Jin continues his search, but how can he find them when they've split apart? The rest of the story you never heard continues...)_

_(P.S. Don't forget to **leave a review**, I always appreciate feedback! ^_^ )_


	2. Jin and Tonic

_(Note: This chapter takes place during season 1, episodes 25-28.)  
_

**Unintended, Part 2**

"**Jin and Tonic"**

The sun was shining brightly above and a warm breeze drifted over the meadow. A few sporadic clouds floated lazily by in an otherwise pure blue sky. Thick, lush grass grew here, as did yellow dandelions that dotted the field in patches. Birdsong was heard and the whole world seemed to say, "It's a beautiful day! Enjoy yourself! Enjoy your life!"

If one looked down from overhead, one could see the green of the grass was broken by the black form of a boy lying stretched out on his back, sunglasses shielding his eyes. His arms were spread out and his lengthy hair was getting in his eyes. A black, reptilian creature rested next to him.

"I'm going to die here," he proclaimed abruptly, breaking the tranquility of the scene.

"What, here in this meadow?" Scarmon asked.

"No. In the Digital World. It's time I faced facts, Scarmon." He stood up and brushed himself off, letting out a deep sigh of resignation. "I'm never going home."

"You don't know that," Scarmon argued. "You just wait. We'll find a way to get you back. After all, no one's seen the other Digidestined… maybe they made it home!"

"Or maybe they all got killed by giant digimon," Jin conjectured gloomily. "In either case, we've been searching for them for two months. And roll that one around your tongue a little to get the feel of it, Scarmon: _two months._ We followed those footprints up and down the stupid desert trying to find them and we didn't find a thing."

"Some of those footprints went in different directions," Scarmon reminded him. "They might have split up."

"Idiots," Jin muttered, shaking his head. "Why would anyone separate from each other in this world? While I'm trying to find those chumps, they go and split up! When I find them, I'm going to knock some sense into them."

"When you find them? Does that mean we aren't giving up?" Scarmon asked hopefully.

Jin let out another sigh. "Yes," he replied. "We don't really have anything better to do. Besides, even if we're stuck here, another human might be nice to talk to. Who knows? Maybe they'll wise up and rejoin each other."

* * *

**At that moment:**

"Mine's pointing this way," said Tai.

"And mine's pointing this way," said Matt.

"I guess we'll have to split up again."

"Okay," Matt agreed. "TK, you're with me."

"And Joe will come with me," Tai finished. "We'll meet at the foot of that mountain tomorrow."

As the four humans and digimon separated and went off on the two paths, TK asked his brother uncertainly, "Do you think we'll find the others, Matt?"

"Sure we will!" Matt exclaimed hopefully.

"Bye-bye! Farewell! Auf wiedersehen!" Tai called.

"Hold on," Joe interrupted, "I have to tie my shoe."

"Aw, you're ruining our big, dramatic exit!" Tai laughed.

In high spirits, they all went off to find their missing companions.

* * *

It was raining where Jin was the next morning. The water came down on him, soaking him to the bone. He and his digimon both took shelter under a tree in hopes of keeping relatively dry, but it was no use. Since they were getting wet anyway, they chose to keep walking in hopes of finding shelter or, perhaps, the other Digidestined.

Cold and hungry, the two of them walked on through the woods, praying that the storm would pass quickly and the sun would come out soon. As they were walking, a sound was heard over the patter of rain. Straining their ears, they heard the sound of flapping wings. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a black, hooded, bat-like creature coming down to meet them.

"Hey, how's it going, guys?" the little creature called in greeting in a harsh, gravelly voice.

"Who are you?" Jin inquired.

"DemiDevimon's the name," he answered, "and you two look like you need an umbrella!"

"I don't imagine flying in this weather's your idea of fun, either," Jin commented. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to get going."

The two took a few steps, but DemiDevimon was persistent and flew a little ahead of them, keeping up.

"Well, why head in this direction?" he inquired. "I'm pretty sure there's some shelter to the East. Why not go that way?"

"What kind of shelter?" Jin asked curiously.

"An amusement park!" exclaimed DemiDevimon his yellow eyes gleaming.

Scarmon grinned, interested, but Jin frowned.

"What's in this direction?" he inquired, pointing to the North.

"Oh, nothing important, nothing for miles and miles," replied DemiDevimon. "You'd be better off going east. Nothing to the north at all!"

"Really? Nothing?" Jin pressed.

"Nope!" he insisted. "Boring forest for miles! You really ought to go East. Have some fun, kid!"

Jin grinned slyly. "Thanks for the tip," he said. "We'll get started right away!"

"Good for you, kid!" DemiDevimon grinned and flew off. _Boy, that kid is dumb, _he thought. _That was way too easy!_

"Hey, an amusement park sounds great!" Scarmon said when DemiDevimon was gone.

"Too bad we're not going." Scarmon looked at him, puzzled. "That round little bat-thing was lying. There's something he doesn't want us to see. That means we **have** to see it."

"How do you know he's lying?" asked Scarmon.

"Just a gut feeling from being a liar myself," Jin replied, a grin on his face despite the rain. "If there's one thing I've figured out, it's that when someone makes a point of saying there's nothing to see, they're hiding something. You've got a pretty good sense of smell, Scarmon; think you can track him?"

Now it was Scarmon's turn to grin. "I can track anything! He's not getting away from us!" With that, he took off ahead of Jin, the boy in pursuit. Scarmon was eager to prove his skills as a rookie, happy to be the partner of such a clever human. He only hoped that they could catch a break soon, because…

He pushed the thought out of mind. He didn't want to think about it, but he had to realize that Jin was getting desperate. The two enjoyed bullying other digimon, being a general nuisance, but lately Jin had been getting more brutal, less energized by their escapades. These days he was acting out in anger and frustration and it wasn't clear what their goals were anymore. Scarmon was willing to do whatever Jin asked, trusting that right and wrong was not his place to decide. Being a friend to his partner was the only thing that mattered. No matter what Jin asked, he would never desert him. He would die for him and, if it was Jin's wish, he would kill for him.

And it wouldn't matter who was the target.

* * *

Myotismon sat at his desk. Staring intently at the cards, he mulled over what the answer must be. It was right in front of him. Why couldn't he see it?

"Hey boss!" DemiDevimon called upon entering the chamber.

"What is it?" Myotismon growled, angered at the sudden intrusion.

DemiDevimon recoiled instantly. He had returned to the castle in such high spirits that he'd forgotten to never disturb his master while in his study. And if he did, he was to do it _quietly._ If he was lucky, maybe Myotismon wouldn't hurt him.

"Well, master," he began, groveling, "I just wanted to let you know that I was successful in detouring the eighth Digidestined. That kid'll never find this place!"

"Good work," he complimented halfheartedly. "I don't want any more failures. And he is not the eighth child."

"He isn't?" DemiDevimon asked, confused.

"No, you fool!" growled Myotismon. "That little wretch is a false Digidestined. He was not intended to be in this world. The true eighth child is to carry the Crest of Light, not the Crest of Rage."

"Well, if he's not one of the Digidestined, then why bother with him?" asked DemiDevimon.

"He may not be one of the true Digidestined," Myotismon explained, "but his digimon can still digivolve. In fact, it can digivolve to the Ultimate level, making it a formidable foe indeed. The less opponents we must face, the less trouble we have when finding the real eighth child, who is infinitely more dangerous to my plans. For now, I prefer to see that X-factor removed from the equation."

DemiDevimon nodded. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about him anymore!" he exclaimed.

"That's not what I heard," a female voice commented, its owner entering the room.

"Gatomon," Myotismon acknowledged. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I talked to some guards in our territory and they say that the false Digidestined is coming this way," Gatomon reported, casting a knowing glance in DemiDevimon's direction. "He might be here in another day or two if he keeps up his pace. Seems _somebody_ was followed."

Myotismon looked over in DemiDevimon's direction. "Is that so?" he growled.

The feathered demon grinned sheepishly. "Well, he sure _seemed_ to want to go to the amusement pa-ack!" he cried as Myotismon kicked him into a wall. The undead king then looked to Gatomon.

"I hope you at least have some good news for me," he snarled menacingly.

Gatomon cast her eyes downward and got on one knee humbly. "I would never fail you, master," she replied. "Wizardmon and I were successful." She reached into her glove and removed something from it. "The Crest of Light, just as you asked."

Myotismon took it and grinned. "Excellent work, my faithful servant," he congratulated. "Now almost everything is in readiness. Soon, I will decrypt these cards and the other Digidestined will fall!"

Laughing in fiendish delight, he returned to his desk, leaving Gatomon and DemiDevimon to exit on their own.

"You smug little thunder-stealing, feline," growled DemiDevimon, taking to the air. "You've got some nerve—"

"Oh, go drop guano on someone who cares," Gatomon dismissed. "If you were really loyal to the master, you wouldn't have done such a half-tailed job."

"Don't start thinking that you're the cat's meow, yet, puddy-tat!" DemiDevimon laughed. "I'm the master's right hand mon around here, and you're just 2nd banana."

"Well, he looked like he was about to peel you, so watch who you call banana," she retorted. "Anyway, I've been hard at work finding that Crest. I need a catnap and you are this close to being shredded and used as litter box lining, so buzz off!"

The feline digimon stalked off. DemiDevimon, meanwhile, had other business to attend to. The Digidestined would meet up soon, and he had to locate them if Myotismon was to finish them off for good.

* * *

The next morning was a time of great tension for everyone involved in the whole mess. The seven Digidestined, reunited at last, had encountered Myotismon and found him an overwhelming foe, even with the newly evolved Garudamon's assistance. Gennai had contacted them and informed them of the existence of an eight child and they were now trying to protect them, whoever they were. Myotismon was still hard at work deciphering the cards and he was beginning to suspect a pattern. DemiDevimon and Gatomon were given the task of recruiting and training assisting troops. DemiDevimon had selected Nanimon to train his recruits, while Gatomon was simply scrounging up evil digimon from the slums of Server.

Jin was unaware of the dire straits everyone was in at the time. He had never heard of Myotismon and had no idea that he was steadily getting closer to his castle. Even so, his instincts told him that he was coming upon something big, and therefore he was in a hurry to arrive.

"Come on, Scarmon!" he urged, climbing over the rocks ahead of him. "The faster we move, the sooner we find that little bat thing! This would be so much easier if you could fly!"

"Coming!" puffed Scarmon. He was getting tired of moving at this pace and he was even more tired of Jin's treatment. As happy as he was to see Jin's burst of enthusiasm, he was not happy at all with these attacks on his shortcomings.

"You're sure he went this way?" Jin demanded, yanking Scarmon by the foreleg over the top of the rock pile. "You're absolutely sure that this is where the trail leads?"

"Yes!" Scarmon cried exasperatedly. "I've got one of the finest senses of smell in the Digital World, Jin! We'll find them no matter what, but—"

"No buts!" Jin cried, leaping down the other side of the rock pile, going ahead. "The less time we waste, the better! Move your tail or you'll be left behind!"

_Hmph, _thought Scarmon. _As if he could find anything without my nose. I hope he gets back to normal once we get there. I'm exhausted…_

* * *

"Okay, troops!" Gatomon barked, or meowed, as it were. "This is the big one. Myotismon will reward you for your work if you do your jobs right. Do you read me?"

"We read you, ma'am!" they all agreed in unison. Gatomon smiled. Before her was the most ghastly, rough, evil bunch of digimon one could ask for when building a posse. They would be perfect for the invasion, once they crossed over to Earth. They were gathered in the courtyard of Myotismon's castle and she had just briefed them about the nature of their mission, of how they were to seek out and destroy the eight child, once he or she was found.

"Okay, then… let's move out!" she ordered, and they all prepared to depart. Then, two of them caught her eye. "Hey, hold it you two! I've got a special assignment for you…"

* * *

"We're almost there, I can just feel it!" Jin declared fiercely. "Scarmon!"

"I'm coming… I'm coming…" he panted. "Couldn't we rest a minute?"

"What is this, a nature hike?" Jin asked sarcastically. "Maybe we should have a sing along, too, huh? Got any requests?"

"Yeah!" a voice said. "How about 'La Cucaracha?'"

Jin turned around. He stared at the two newcomers blocking his path and removed his sunglasses to get a better look. "What the…?"

"Hi there!" the first one called in greeting. "My name is Roachmon, and this is my buddy, Roachmon."

"No relation," added the 2nd Roachmon.

"_Roach_mon?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Darn tootin'!" the first said proudly. "We're two fine, upstanding vermin, if I do say so myself!"

"I agree!" the second agreed. "We are truly representative of our filthy, disease-ridden brethren!"

"Uh-huh, great, glad to meet you," Jin said disinterestedly. "Now, if you'll excuse us…"

"Why, did you burp?" asked the first Roachmon. The two of them laughed.

Jin blinked. "We're going this direction. You're in our way. Are you moving or not?" he demanded, his voice turning icy.

"Not!" the second answered. "We've got orders to stop you here, so you can either turn around or we can exterminate you like bugs."

"Hey, hey, don't be gross!" the first chastised.

Jin cracked a smile. "You two are just begging for this," he chuckled. "Scarmon, take out these bugs and let's move on."

"No problem…" Scarmon complied, bracing himself on his four, wobbly legs. _"Scarmon digivolve to…"_

Jin turned, expecting to see Venomon standing, lethal and menacing, but saw only Scarmon, collapsed helplessly on the ground, wheezing pathetically.

"What happened?" he cried.

"Too weak…" Scarmon answered. "I can't digivolve without a good meal and some rest."

"Is that right?" Roachmon #1 asked. "Well then, if you want to rest, then we'll help out!"

"Yeah," agreed #2. "Rest in peace, that is!"

_"Garbage Dump!"_ the two attacked in unison.

Jin was suddenly struck in the face by a wave of trash that forced him backwards and soon buried him and Scarmon up to their necks.

"What kind of attack is that?" he shouted, disgustedly, extricating himself from the rubbish. "Who throws garbage? I'm going to stomp you two rejects from a biology project into the ground!"

"Oh, so you think that we can't stomp back, eh?" #1 sneered, his antennae wiggling agitatedly. "Well, try this on for size! _Roachmon Exterminate!_"

The two flew up into the air and made a dive bomb swoop at the two, their feet prepared crush them. Jin, reacting swiftly, scooped up his companion and ran for cover in the nearby woods.

Once they were hidden from their attackers, Jin looked down at Scarmon, cradled in his arms. "Hey, are you okay, Scarmon?"

"Not even close," he sighed. "I couldn't protect you. I'm really not good enough for you."

"No," Jin denied firmly. "You did your best. It's my job to take care of you and I botched that." He rubbed his face, feeling, perhaps for the first time that he could remember, pangs of guilt. "I'm going to get you some food. Just one question, are you picky about where it comes from?"

"As long as it's fresh and/or meat, I don't care," Scarmon replied.

"Okay," Jin nodded. "Stay here and keep quiet. I'll be right back."

"What about the Roachmon?"

Jin reached into the front pocket of his cargo pants and removed a switchblade, flicking out the blade. "Let me worry about them."

* * *

**At that moment:**

"Okay, let's see…" Izzy said, looking over his digimon profiles in the gateway chamber. "Let's see, there's the Lion, the Centaur, and… the Monkey!" he exclaimed, bringing up Leomon's, Centaurumon's, and Etemon's profiles. "That's it!"

Working rapidly, he placed the key cards in the slots, explaining that each panel represented a digimon of each type, either Vaccine, Data, or Virus, and of three different levels, either Rookie, Champion, or Ultimate. Leaving only one spot empty, he left the two remaining cards to Tai, who knew that one would lead home, where they would have to intercept Myotismon if they were going to save the eighth child, while the other card would, well…

Would lead to a foreign dimension from which they might never return.

* * *

"Roachmon, do you see that kid or his partner anywhere?" #1 asked #2.

"No, I haven't seen them anywhere, Roachmon," #2 replied. "I can't figure out where they would have gone!"

He threw up his arms in frustration, all four of them, which was just what Jin had been waiting for. Leaping down from his perch in a nearby tree, he made a mad dash at #2 and pulled out his trusty switchblade. #2 had no time to react as Jin took hold of his lower right arm from behind, raised the knife, and brought it down in a slicing movement.

_"Augh!" _#2 screamed in pain. "My arm! My lower right arm! Can you imagine what I'd do if only had one right arm, you little punk?"

"Don't worry, we'll get him, Roachmon!" #1 cried, and the two gave chase. Jin was only a little bit ahead of them and there was no way they'd give up now, not after this insult.

When they reached a clearing, they looked around for Jin and Scarmon. "Come on out and fight like a mon!" #1 hollered.

"Fine," came the hard reply. Jin stepped out from behind a tree. He made no move to attack, nor to defend.

"What do you think you're doing?" #2 demanded of the surprisingly calm boy.

"Creating a distraction," Jin replied, smiling fiendishly.

"A distraction from what?" #1 asked.

"That," Jin answered, pointing behind the Roachmon, who whirled around to see Scarmon standing by a tree. #2 saw something twitching at the corner of his mouth and realized with horror that it was his missing arm.

"No!" #2 screamed in protest. Before he could react in time, however, Scarmon snapped it up, crunched into it, and swallowed, giving a satisfied belch.

"He ate my arm…" he whimpered in disbelief.

"Crunchy," Scarmon remarked. "High and protein and tasty, too!"

"Why don't you get some more?" Jin suggested.

"Don't mind if I do!" Scarmon laughed harshly. _"Scarmon digivolve to… Venomon!"_

The towering black beast known as Venomon now stood before the two Roachmon. The two exchanged nervous glances. "Yeah, well, you don't scare us!" #1 declared haughtily.

Venomon chuckled gutturally. _"Venom Spit!"_ he attacked, launching the acidic green glob at #2, who screamed as it began eating away at his exoskeleton. His pain was cut short as Venomon rushed ahead and gave a ferocious roar as he stomped on #2, crushing him underfoot and deleting him.

"Yeah, well, you still don't scare _me!"_ #1 amended. "You've got some good moves, but none like this! _Yardsale Bomb!"_

A collection of pure junk rained down on Venomon. Pianos, refrigerators, cabinets and the like pummeled him into the ground. Even Jin was impressed.

"Whoa… he threw everything at you except the kitchen sink," he remarked.

That said, a sink fell from the sky and hit Venomon in the head.

"Well, if he wants to fight dirty," Jin growled. "We can trash him back!" His face dark, the Crest of Rage glowed and Venomon stood. "Finish him off."

"Gotcha!" Venomon agreed. _"Venomon digivolve to… SkullVenomon!"_

Roachmon looked at SkullVenomon and his heart sank. Then, he thought of what Myotismon would do to him if he abandoned the fight. Considering the situation, he made his choice.

_"Roachmon Exterminate!"_ he attacked, flying up and attempting to plant a deadly kick in the bone-plated behemoth he faced.

It proved to be a fatal move, however, as SkullVenomon raised his head to look up at Roachmon and unleash his fury. _"Nightmare Scream!"_ he howled, and released the pitch black, spiraling tornado at his hapless victim. Roachmon didn't even have time to scream as the attack tore through him, shredding him like tissue paper before he shattered into data and was deleted.

SkullVenomon let out a bellow of triumph as he glowed and shrank, de-digivolving to Scarmon.

"Great work, buddy," Jin congratulated him. "Are you feeling up to going on?"

Scarmon grinned, his yellow eyes gleaming. "Ready when you are!"

* * *

Their moods were considerably dampened when they got to their destination. Before them were the ruins of a castle. Nothing remained but a big pile of rubble on a high spire of rock, with no bridge between it and the cliff they now stood on.

"What happened here?" Jin asked. "There's just some ruins. There's no one here—"

"You're a little late, kid," said a voice from behind. Jin and Scarmon turned around to see Nanimon walking over to them, a bottle in his gloved hand. "You missed the whole party."

"What are you talking about, you Mr. T wannabe?" demanded Jin.

"Well, that castle used to belong to Myotismon. He found a way to Earth."

Jin's heart stopped and his eyes lit up. "He did?" he asked quietly.

"Yep! He's trying to take it over. I was supposed to stop those Digidestined kids from following him, but I guess they made it, 'cause they went in there and the castle fell in. They're tough, though. No way would I mess with them again! They made it through, though… no way did a crumbling castle stop them!"

Jin was very quiet then. "The way to Earth is in there?" he asked.

"Was," Nanimon answered. "Now it's kaput. That's a hundred tons of rock on top of it!"

"So… the other Digidestined were here?"

Nanimon nodded, hiccupping.

"And they got to go home?"

Nanimon nodded.

Jin's eyes went wide and they glared at Nanimon icily. He clenched his fists and every muscle in his body went tense. The veins in his forehead and his arms bulged out and he began to shake in fury. His left eye began twitching involuntarily. Scarmon snarled from behind Jin's leg in warning to Nanimon.

"So, I'm stuck here," he muttered, his voice shaky and strained. "No way to return home, the last human on the planet." In spite of himself, a high, humorless giggle escaped him. "The others go home, go to save the world. Meanwhile, I'm marooned here. You're telling me I'm nothing but a... a _prisoner?"_

"Ha! I guess that's one way to put it! Welcome to the Digital World, kid! Enjoy your stay!" Nanimon laughed obliviously.

Jin punched the little digimon in the face and let out a howl of unworldly anguish. "You miserable pile of filth! I never wanted any of this! This is your fault! You and every other goddamned evil digimon in this world!_"_

The Crest of Rage let out an explosion of red light that engulfed Jin as the energy of his boundless rage poured suddenly into Scarmon.

Standing with his head tilted to the side, he stared at the hapless Nanimon, a tightly drawn rictus-like grin on his face. "My rage is my power," he said, his voice filled with hatred, "and my rage is limitless. I'm going to make you and the rest of your kind suffer."

_"Scarmon WARP-DIGIVOLVE TO…"_

Nanimon backed away, looking to Jin and then to Scarmon's new form. He knew he was doomed. The new creature in front of him was the most fiendish monstrosity he'd ever seen… and yet, the thing that made him even more terrible was the cold, unforgiving hatred in the young boy's maddened eyes.

**To be continued…**

_(Next time: Trapped in the Digital World without human contact, Jin re-encounters the Digidestined after years in exile...)_

_(P.S. Don't forget to **leave a review!**)_


	3. Jin Rummy

_(Note: This chapter takes place during season 2, episode 7.)  
_

**Unintended, Part 3**

**"Jin Rummy"**

The city was cold and mechanical as it lay under its dome. This city, Full Metal City, was a place where technology was the center of everyday life and the organic was considered abnormal. Machine-like digimon dwelled there, and they had lived there in peace for a long time. Only recently was there unrest.

Only now that the Digimon Emperor had arrived.

There was a control spire at the center of the city and all who wore a dark ring were controlled by it and, in turn, the Emperor. Slaves to his will, they did what they were ordered without question. And right now, they were ordered to destroy the intruders that had come there. There were ten of them that they knew about.

And two they didn't know about.

* * *

Davis rounded the corner as he and his companions made their retreat. In front of them was the TV set that would lead them back to Earth. He raised his digivice and held it up as he came upon the gateway.

"Digiport open!" he shouted, and a bright blue light engulfed him and Veemon, drawing them through to safety. Following him were Yolei and Cody with Hawkmon and Armadillomon. Right behind them were TK and Patamon. However, as Kari and Gatomon approached the gate, a Gardromon came upon them from a nearby roof.

_"Grenade Destroyer!"_ it attacked. Kari and Gatomon skidded to a halt as the blast narrowly missed them, but destroyed the gate before them.

"Gatomon, are you all right?" Kari asked, concerned for her partner.

"Yeah, but you'd better digivolve me so I can take out this clown!" Gatomon exclaimed.

"Right!" she raised her digivice and was about to activate the armor digivolution when another grenade blasted a hole in the wall above them, causing rubble to rain down on the pair. A beam fell and landed on Kari's head. The girl went limp and slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Kari!" Gatomon cried, and dashed to her partner. Another chunk of rubble fell onto her, pinning her and knocking the wind from her as well. As everything began to go black, she reached for her helpless partner with one outstretched paw in desperation. "Kari…" she groaned, and passed out.

"This is unit #238," the Gardromon radioed its command post robotically. "Have incapacitated targets. Request further instructions."

_"Orders are to terminate,"_ came the reply from a commanding Gardromon.

"Roger. Targets are to be terminated." The Gardromon raised its arm to fire the final shot.

"Hey! Tupperware!" called a voice. The Gardromon turned to see another human behind him. He was tall, wearing all black, including a trench coat, and he had a cruel smirk on his face. "Eat this!" he growled, and lobbed a hand grenade at the Gardromon.

The blast disoriented it, but it was still moving and it advanced toward the boy. Just as it did, another voice was heard: _"Plasma Fire!"_

A small blue flame of plasma hit the Gardromon's dark ring directly, but it wasn't enough to destroy it. The iron digimon now turned to aim at the small, toothy digimon that had attacked, momentarily forgetting the boy. This was just what the boy wanted, and he ran forward and drew a hatchet from his coat and brought it down hard on the ring attached to the Gardromon's front hatch. There was a burst of electric sparks and then the Gardromon became still as it was deactivated.

"Nice work, Scarmon," the boy complimented. "Let's see what he was going after." He looked over the ledge and gasped.

"Is that… is that what I think it is, Jin?" Scarmon inquired.

Jin nodded, momentarily in shock. "It's… another human. One besides that Emperor punk or me." He swallowed. "Come on. Let's get her and her digimon to the hideout."

* * *

Not too much later, the four of them were in a secluded building. Jin and Scarmon had been using this as a hideout for the past day and knew that it wasn't monitored by the Emperor's cameras. Since they weren't being watched, it was the perfect place to plan their next move. They had been there to plunder the factories and get some more weapons, which had become a necessity for survival ever since Scarmon had lost his ability to digivolve.

This was a very dangerous time. In all his time in the Digital World, Jin had always been able to count on a helping hand from his partner. When faced with adversity or opportunity, Scarmon could always digivolve and overcome their obstacles. Now, however, the control spires and the dark digivice had but a block on digivolution, rendering the digivice at his waist and the Crest of Rage about his neck useless. For the first time in the five long years of traveling this world, Jin was in charge of protecting the two of them. They'd been through some rough times, evading the Dark Masters, learning that the Digidestined had returned after two years, only to miss them once again, and then they'd gone three years alone. Only now had humans returned, but Jin had thought it was limited to the Digimon Emperor, who had spent more time trying to destroy him than help him find a way home. Now, however, there was another human, and Jin felt hopeful for the first time in years.

"This is a human, eh?" Scarmon remarked. "It looks different from you."

"Different how?" Jin asked.

"It's brighter, and it's shaped different, and it—" he sniffed the air, "smells flowery."

Jin smiled. "It's a girl, Scarmon. Female of my species."

"Hmm," Scarmon muttered. "Well, what's she doing here?"

"Beats me," Jin shrugged. "She looks like she took a bad hit to the head. She's got a huge lump."

"Actually, she's got two, and they don't look so hu—"

"On her head!" Jin shouted, knuckling Scarmon in the head as he turned a bright red. "Jeez, can you imagine how embarrassed I'd be if she was awake?"

"Why would you be embarrassed?" Scarmon asked. "I mean, so what if you haven't seen one of these in five years?"

"You didn't have to go through adolescence without seeing one," Jin hissed. "She looks pretty young, anyway. Way too young for me, anyway. I'd guess she's eleven or so."

He found himself staring. He had to admit, she was a sight for sore eyes, even though he had no idea who she was. It was positively surreal... a human.

Kari mumbled in her sleep and Scarmon jumped back in surprise. Kari opened her eyes a little and looked at them without really seeing them.

"Who are you?" Jin asked cautiously, crouching down and getting closer to her.

She blinked a little as if she didn't understand the question. Her vision was blurry and the boy in front of her was merely a big dark blob before her, his voice distant and echoing. Still, she struggled to speak.

"My name… is Kari," she answered finally. "Who…?"

"My name is Jin Takamura," Jin introduced. "And this is Scarmon."

"My digimon… Gatomon…" she said, and trailed off, her head lolling as she slipped in and out of consciousness.

"Hey, stay with me!" Jin pleaded, snapping his fingers. "Tell me: are you from Earth?"

He thought it was a dumb question, but Kari seemed to understand it. She nodded and strained to see him better. He slowly came into focus before her as she struggled to stay awake.

She saw a tall boy, his skin tanned, his gray eyes hard and tired, his wild, shaggy hair cut haphazardly and his face covered with the youthful beginnings of beard stubble. He looked old, older than her brother and he wore dark clothes. She noticed that there was a white skull and crossbones painted on the front of his torn black t-shirt. His pants were ragged and they also looked too small for him. Hanging in his coat pocket were a pair of chrome-framed sunglasses. His face was hard, tired, but intent.

"Okay, Kari, how did you come here?" Jin inquired.

"Digiport…" she replied. "At… school…"

"School?" Scarmon asked curiously. Jin waved him away and went on.

"Do you know a way out?" he pressed.

She blinked, squinting hard at him as her vision began to blur again. "Out? Out where?"

"Of the Digiworld!" he cried. "Please! Is there a way back to Earth?"

Kari seemed to have momentarily lost consciousness once again, but then raised her head and gave an answer. "Gateway… TV sets around the Digiworld… hold digivice up and you… can… return…"

She slumped once again and passed out. Jin blinked.

"TV sets?" he asked bemused. "That's how I get home?"

"She's got a digivice, Jin," Scarmon remarked. "It looks like one of the newer models."

"She's got a digimon and a digivice and she's being hunted by the Emperor," Jin mused. "No doubt, she's a Digidestined. She must be telling the truth."

He blinked. Then, to Scarmon's wonderment, he started to laugh. He laughed long and loud and with a kind of triumph he'd previously only seen after victory in combat.

"Do you realize what this means?" he asked, standing up as he began to pace, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Scarmon shook his head. "It means that finally, after five years, I'm going home! I can go and get a burger whenever I want! I can sleep in a bed every night! I can get a bath and pizza and not have to worry about being slaughtered by evil digimon or power-mad kids! I can get clothes that fit me! I can finally escape! We're busting out of this place!"

Scarmon grinned. "Great," he said. "Where do we find a TV set?"

Jin was taken aback. He hadn't thought about that. He had no idea where he could find one of these gateways.

"We'll just have to go and find one," Jin decided, setting his small friend down. "Let's leave her here and start searching."

"You think we can leave her?" Scarmon inquired, cocking his head to the side doubtfully.

"She's not badly injured. She'll have a headache when she wakes up, but she'll be fine. Besides, she seems like an expert at evading the Emperor, this last performance notwithstanding, so I'm sure she can handle herself well enough. Besides, the Digimon Emperor's cronies are looking for her, not us."

"Kinda cowardly, don't you think?" Scarman asked.

"I don't even know her. For all we know, she's the Digimon Empress. She's got the same kind of Digivice, after all," Jin said, rationalizing. "And even if she's not," he added, eyeing Scarman, "these days its every 'mon for himself. Got it?"

Scarmon nodded and followed Jin outside as they began their search.

Meanwhile, inside the darkened building, Gatomon stirred and awoke. Seeing her partner unconscious, she went over and shook her, calling her name.

"Kari, are you all right?" she asked.

Kari opened her eyes and blinked. "Yeah, I think so," she said. "I was having this weird dream… there was this weird kid in black and… he had a digimon I'd never seen before…"

"We can't worry about a dream right now," Gatomon declared. "We've got to contact the others and let them know you're okay."

* * *

Jin, meanwhile, was stealthily making his way through the city. His only concern now was to escape from the city. That meant finding the gate, which was a long walk from his present position. If he was going to get out in one piece, that meant he would have to proceed carefully and avoid detection from the numerous security cameras surrounding the area, not to mention the hoard of Gardromon ready to execute anything they saw on sight.

"See anything?" he asked Scarmon, who poked his head around the corner cautiously, checking for oncoming intruders.

"No, it looks like the coast is clear," Scarmon whispered. "Let's move before the Gardromon come by on patrol."

What Jin and Scarmon didn't realize, of course, was that someone was watching them as they hurried down the deserted street. And that someone began following close behind, his red eyes glowing as he gave chase.

* * *

**At that moment:**

Outside the city, two boys were having troubles of their own, mostly with each other.

"Okay, I'll go save Kari; you stay here," Davis said.

"Yeah, right!" TK snorted, rolling his eyes. "_I'll _save Kari; _you _stay here."

Davis frowned and reached into his pocket. "All right, let's flip a coin," he suggested. "If I win, I save Kari; if you win, you go. I'll call it, since it's my coin."

He flipped the coin in the air, calling out "Tails!" before he caught it and slapped it on his wrist. He removed his hand and displayed the coin to TK. "It's tails!" he laughed. "Don't worry, I'll tell Kari that you were worried about her and that—"

He was cut short as TK grabbed the coin and examined it closely. "Hey, a coin with tails on both sides!" he laughed. He turned to Davis and held it up smugly. "That's how I used to beat Matt."

Giving the coin back to his teammate and rival, he grinned and said, "Let's both go."

"Fine by me, TS," Davis relented.

As the two went on, Patamon and Veemon followed close behind. "TK and Davis sure do fight a lot," Patamon remarked.

"Yeah, there's something about human girls that make human boys act so weird," Veemon agreed.

* * *

"I think we're safe," Jin whispered.

"Are you sure?" Scarmon asked.

"If I'm wrong, may lightning strike me dead!" Jin laughed.

_"Lightning Blade!"_ a voice bellowed, and a curving wave of electricity rushed at the pair, who ducked as it made a huge gash in the wall above them.

"Okay, who's the joker who did that?" Jin demanded. Scarmon made no reply, but gestured in their attacker's direction with one claw. Jin looked up to see who it was.

Before him was a towering, cybernetic nightmare. Seven feet tall and covered almost entirely with metal, his glowing red eyes glared at the two with malice. In a few places, such as his neck, shoulders and one of his legs, one could see that he had organic components as well. He walked robotically as he approached, almost awkward, but the both of them could sense that whatever this digimon was, he was extremely powerful.

They could also see that he had a dark ring around his neck.

"I am Andromon!" the android announced. "I have orders to destroy the enemy. You are the enemy. I will destroy you."

"We're goners," Scarmon said.

"Come on, he doesn't look that tough!" Jin said, gritting his teeth determinedly.

"He's an ultimate-level digimon with weapons that can put a champion digimon down in one shot!" Scarmon told him. "He's supposed to be a nice guy, but that dark ring probably means he's had an attitude adjustment!"

"Well, we'll just have to re-adjust him," Jin replied calmly and drew a hand grenade he'd acquired. Removing the pin, he lobbed it at Andromon. It exploded, engulfing their foe in flames. "Yes!" Jin shouted with satisfaction.

The smoke cleared and Andromon was still standing, completely unscathed. And now he looked mad.

"You will be terminated with extreme prejudice," he snarled mechanically. The plates on his chest lowered and two missiles were seen loading. _"Gatling Attack!"_

Jin and Scarmon ran, but the blast knocked them both several feet forward, the heat pouring over them in a firey wave.

"Any suggestions?" Jin asked.

"Try to find some cover while I distract him!" Scarmon yelled over the roar of the flames behind them.

"You sure you can handle him?" Jin asked, unsurely.

"Just go!" Scarmon ordered.

Jin complied and ran to a nearby building while Scarmon turned his attention to the approaching Andromon. "Hey, you ugly, stiff reject from a 'Lost in Space' audition!" Scarmon called tauntingly. "You couldn't hit the broad side of Infinity Mountain!"

"Your overconfidence will be your undoing, weakling," Andromon admonished.

Jin, meanwhile, found himself in what appeared to be a kind of warehouse. From the floor to the ceiling were hundreds of crates, all of them sealed and labeled with serial numbers. He had no idea as to what was in them, but he supposed that there might be some kind of weapon in one that he could use against Andromon. After all, Scarmon was tough, but he was no match for an enemy as powerful as him. Searching, he found a crowbar and pried open one of the crates and peered inside.

Upon seeing what he'd uncovered, he smirked. Luck seemed to be smiling on him that day, after all.

* * *

**At that moment:**

Ken Ichijouji, known in the Digiworld as the Digimon Emperor, was watching his central monitor in his base and grinned as Kari, riding Nefertimon, narrowly dodged the volley of grenades launched by his army of Gardromon.

"Well, she's all alone," Ken remarked. "She deserves someone special to keep her company."

Bringing up his personel files, he flipped to available servants that would be formidable enough to handle an adversary such as the Digidestined. He finally came upon one and laughed harshly.

Wormon blanched. "Oh no," he whimpered. "Not him! Anyone but him!"

"Contact him immediately," Ken commanded, ignoring his obsequious companion.

* * *

Scarmon huffed and puffed in exhaustion as another Lightning Blade attack narrowly missed him. It was bad enough not being able to digivolve, but without Jin, who had been protecting him as of late, he felt even more helpless than usual. Still, he told himself that Jin was a master when it came to anything mechanical, and that extended to weapons. In no time at all, he would be back. He hoped.

In the meantime, he'd have to keep up his line of taunts, which weren't going very well.

"Hey, you, uh, rusty tin can!" he called. "Go stick a refrigerator magnet to your butt!"

"Your insults are as weak as your muscles," Andromon remarked indifferently, pursuing his small prey with ease. "Soon, you will succumb to exhaustion, and then I will destroy you!"

Then, Andromon heard a new voice behind him that he found very perplexing: _"Target in range…"_

He turned to see a Mekanorimon standing behind him. He was so surprised that he didn't even have time to react as it attacked. _"Twin Beam!"_

The Twin Beam hit him square in the chest, knocking him backwards. The Mekanorimon's rockets kicked in and it flew over to Scarmon, who backed away cautiously. Then, the cockpit on its head opened and he saw who was inside.

"Jin!" Scarmon cried.

"Look at the new toy I found, Scarmon," Jin chuckled. "Looks like coming here wasn't a bust after all! Hop in!"

Scarmon complied as Andromon stood. Jin turned in his seat and flashed a smile at him.

"Well, _domo arigato, _Mr. Roboto," he laughed, "but we've got to be leaving. Take care and remember to change your batteries!"

Closing the cockpit, Jin directed the vehicular digimon to take off. It was a little cramped with himself and Scarmon inside, but he could still figure out the controls well enough to pilot Mekanorimon.

Andromon, however, wasn't going to let his quarry get away so easily. Watching the mechanical digimon climb into the air, he took aim and made his move. _"Gatling Attack!"_

The two missiles hit their mark dead on and the Mekanorimon was knocked off its course wildly as Jin and Scarmon struggled to regain control.

"Pull up! Pull up!" Scarmon cried.

"Shut up, I'm driving!"

"Well, let me drive instead!"

"Don't touch that, Scar—"

The Mekanorimon, with two panicking pilots and huge hole in its hull, crashed through the glass dome that closed in the city and crashed in a flaming heap in the desert outside. Andromon was about to follow, when he got a signal from the Emperor, which the dark ring on his neck demanded he follow. He went to the nearest console and contacted his master.

"You summoned me, Your Highness?" he asked humbly.

"Please hold for the Digimon Emperor," Wormon replied.

* * *

For many that night, the excitement was just beginning. The five new Digidestined were trying their hardest to destroy the control spire in Full Metal City and Andromon was now facing friends that he no longer remembered. Jin, meanwhile, was outside the dome, trudging through the desert, his mood dark again with the knowledge that he had been defeated and remained forgotten to the world.

"We should have teamed up with that girl," Jin grumbled. "'Every 'mon for himself,' what was I thinking?"

"Well, at least now we know how to get you home," Scarmon piped up.

"Right, a TV set," Jin said, rolling his eyes.

"So, all we have to do is find one."

Jin looked down at his partner and sighed. "And how do we do that? There's very little of this stupid world we don't know and I've never seen a TV set here in my entire life. So tell me, Scarmon, where exactly do we find a TV?"

"There's one," Scarmon replied, pointing a claw.

Jin looked and gaped at what he saw. Sitting there in the desert sand was indeed a TV set. It had wiry rabbit ears on top and its screen was static. At first, he thought it was a hallucination, but then he thought that Scarmon wouldn't have been able to see it if he could as well. Then, he supposed that it was just one of the quirks one found in the Digiworld, like telephone booths with non-working telephones. But why would it be on if there was no power or wires connecting them? It didn't make any sense.

"This is the gate?" he asked quietly.

"I guess so," Scarmon sighed. "Well, congratulations, Jin. It looks like you're going home."

Jin blinked. "It is true…" he breathed. "I can finally go home after five years. Five years of being a stranger here. Five years of living by my own wits. After all this time…" He had to sit down. He was dizzy.

Scarmon looked down. His voice was quiet. "I'll miss you," he said.

Jin looked to him, confused. "What do you mean?"

Scarmon looked at him, his yellow eyes uncharacteristically saddened. "Well, you're going home to Earth," he said. "And that means you don't need me anymore."

Jin reached over and put his hand on Scarmon's head. "Oh really?" he asked, a smirk on his face. "You think I don't want you to come?"

Scarmon looked up at him, surprised. He nodded.

"Well, think again, little buddy!" Jin laughed. "You're coming with me! Do you have any idea what kind of stuff we can do with you there?"

Scarmon shook his head.

"We can eat fast food every day and you can digivolve and turn over cars every night if we want to! We can cause more chaos and more property damage than we ever have here! You and me are a team, Scarmon! So let's head back and act like we run the place, because nobody's going to stop us now. We're going to quit the hero business and retire in style!"

Scarmon perked up. "You really think I can come?" he asked hopefully.

"Only one way to find out," Jin answered, and took Scarmon under his arm. "Let's see if this works." He held his digivice up to the TV set and a blue light engulfed him.

* * *

Jin opened his eyes and found his face pressed against a hard linoleum floor. Looking ahead, he saw a shoe only a few inches from his face. In haste, he stood up to meet the shoe's owner. Only when he was back on his feet did he realize that the person in front of him was asleep.

"Hey, who is this guy?" Scarmon asked, making his presence known.

"I don't know," Jin whispered. The boy had short red hair and wore a green school uniform. He was reclining in a chair and his head was rested on his chest as he slumbered. Jin looked and saw that a digivice similar to his own was strapped to his waist.

"He must be a Digidestined," Jin said, still keeping quiet.

"Should we wake him?" Scarmon inquired.

"No. I'm kind of surprised to see that we didn't wake him up crashing through that stupid gate. I don't feel like talking, anyway. There's something I want to check. Just to make sure. There's something really familiar about this place…"

Jin and Scarmon left the computer lab and went down the hall. Behind them, Izzy stirred in his chair and woke up.

"Mmm… I must have fallen asleep," he mumbled to himself as he checked his watch. "I hope Tai and the others return soon. The features on the new digivices I discovered should help the new kids on their mission. After all, I—"

Izzy stopped and looked to the door to the computer lab. It was slightly ajar, even though he was certain he'd shut it himself. Confused, he got up and closed it, then returned to his seat irritably. "I'm going to let Tai know exactly how I feel about being left out of this," he grumbled.

* * *

Jin stood at the sidewalk outside Odaiba Elementary, where he'd once attended school. Across the street was the beach he'd spent so much of his childhood at. Around him were familiar sights and sounds. Nighttime Tokyo glowed on the horizon with the brilliance of the stars that shined in the black sky above him. His knees went weak and he collapsed.

"Jin?" Scarmon asked cautiously. "Are you okay?"

He was surprised to see that Jin had tears in his eyes and was laughing deliriously. "I didn't believe it at first, Scarmon," he laughed. "I thought it was a trick or a dream or something and I kept expecting to wake up and find myself in the Digiworld. But this is too real. I'm sure of it now… after all this time, I'm finally home."

* * *

After getting a leash for Scarmon and masquerading him as a dog (Jin told everyone he ran into that he was a Hairless Bulgarian Pitbull), the two wandered around Tokyo, taking in the sights and sounds all night. When the morning came, the two went to the park and watched the sun as it arose over the great city. Scarmon seemed happy with this new world and was ecstatic about being able to stay with Jin, so much so that it wasn't until the sun was past its initial ascension and the golden aspect of it had gone that he realized Jin had grown quiet and solemn again.

"Hey, Jin, what's on your mind?" the toothy digimon asked.

Jin sighed. "You know, in the five years of being in the Digiworld, I always looked for a purpose. At first, I thought it was to get home. Then I thought it was to find the other Digidestined. Then I thought it was to survive. Then, I realized that I was supposed to fight evil and live up to my role as a Digidestined."

"Well, we did spend a lot of that time doing it," Scarmon mentioned. "Maybe that's why we're home now: we finally took out enough bad guys."

"No, what we did was a lot of petty cleanup work," Jin corrected. "We had all that power and never used it to fight anything but minions and punks. We never beat a Dark Master or Digimon Emperor. And evil is the reason I was trapped in the Digiworld for so long. That has to be the reason. It must be. So, if the evil wasn't in the Digiworld, where was it? Whatever my purpose is, it isn't served yet."

Scarmon looked to his partner, not understanding his preoccupation with purposes and destinies. He thought Jin would be happy to be home, but he was still unsatisfied. He only hoped that his human friend found some peace of mind soon, because he knew that this sadness that had haunted him in the Digiworld had fueled his rage, had made himself powerful, but at great cost to Jin. He told himself that he would do whatever it took to make Jin happy, no matter what the cost was to himself or anyone else.

Then something caught his eye.

"Hey, Jin, what's that?" he asked.

Jin looked in the same direction as his digimon and saw him watching a puppy frolicking in the grass nearby. It was alone and chasing squirrels.

"That's a puppy," Jin answered.

Scarmon's stomach rumbled. "It's cute. What do they taste like?"

Jin grinned and chuckled slyly. "I don't know. Why don't you find out?"

Scarmon joined him in chuckling, his predatory instincts kicking in. "I'll let you know," he said, and charged the puppy.

Jin turned and watched as the city awoke, barely paying attention to the sound of the ensuing brutality nearby. In the back of his mind, he was still thinking of his next move.

"Evil," he said to himself. "Everyone has a destiny, and a Digidestined fights evil. When the other Digidestined beat it, they got to go home. But with me..."

There was evil in the world. He'd been trapped for five years, and had grown strong. Now, seemingly out of the blue, he was allowed to return to Earth. He would not accept that all that time had been without meaning. "Unintended," Mr. X had said?

"No, that can't be right," he said to himself.

Why had he been left to rot in the wilderness if not for some purpose? He was going to find the evil and punish it. Once and for all, he would prove that he was not a waste.

All he needed was to find the ones to blame…

**To be continued…**

_(Next time: Freed from the Digital World, Jin finds himself unable to run from the demons that haunt him, but when he encounters one of the original Digidestined in a far-off place, the lines between hero and villain begin to blur...)_

_(P.S. Speaking of heroes and villains: heroes **leave reviews**. Villains... eh, not so much.)_**  
**


	4. You

_(This story was originally written in February of 2001. Please keep that in mind. This chapter takes place midway through season 2.)_

**Unintended, Part Four**

**"You"**

A pigeon flew down from its perch in a tree and landed on the pavement in the middle of Central Park. It hopped about, its vacant eyes catching the sight of a few bits of birdseed left behind by the flock. The sun was going down and soon it would be time to sleep. The next day it would go back to its normal routine, mindlessly eating all it could, flying to statues and the like, and pooping on things.

The small bird was pecking at some of the birdseed when some more was thrown its way. It looked up and saw a young man in black scattering it around deftly.

"Here little birdy," he sang. "Come on, take all you want. Just come a little closer, you stupid sky rat."

Of course, the pigeon didn't understand a word he said, but it recognized the situation and the tone of voice that signified that this seed was for it to eat. With that in its tiny mind, it bent down and pecked, eating all it cared to.

Then there was a snarl and a flash of huge white teeth and before the pigeon could react, a huge set of jaws had closed upon it and the world went black.

* * *

"I honestly can't understand you," Stacy said to her friend. "I mean, Randy is the biggest dork in the world. Why would you even let him touch your hand at all, let alone help him up after the nerd dropped his books?"

"He still deserves some respect. I mean, we're all human, right?"

"You are too nice," Amy laughed. "I mean, you've got it all: pretty, fashionable, and nice to everyone. It's no wonder you're the most popular girl in school, Mimi!"

Mimi, former holder of the Crest of Sincerity, laughed. "Oh, I'm not the most popular! Besides, I just think it's important to be a good person to other people, don't you?"

Stacy rolled her eyes. _Ugh,_ she thought to herself. She was getting sick of this Miss Goody-two-shoes act. "Well, if you were really so nice, Mimi," she sneered, "you wouldn't give him false hope of getting a date with you by being so nice. I mean, you ought to keep with your own people."

"You mean like not moving to a different country and staying in the same place your whole life?" Mimi asked. Stacy grumbled and shut up. It had been less than a year since Mimi had moved here from Japan to America, from Tokyo to New York City, and in that short time she had rapidly become almost everyone's friend. Stacy wasn't too fond of her perfect attitude, but saying so would make her look bad, so she chose to hang out with Mimi as a manner of staying with the in-crowd. Even so, she kind of wished she would move back and take her cheery disposition with her.

The three girls were walking along a street downtown and chatting about school, guys, and the usual things in the life of a thirteen-year-old girl. It wasn't until Amy said she had to get home that Mimi checked her watch.

"Oh my gosh!" she said. "I've got to get home too, and quick!"

"Yeah, me too!" Amanda exclaimed, running off. "I'll see you tomorrow, guys!"

Mimi looked around and saw where she was. "Oh no, I'll never be able to get home in time from here!" she cried. "My parents are going to kill me!"

Stacy grinned slyly. "Gee, Mimi, why don't you try going through the Park?" she suggested.

"Central Park?" Mimi asked, looking at the entrance across the street. "It's kind of late, don't you think?"

"I was only trying to help," Stacy dismissed. "Of course if you'd rather face your parents or if you're just too scared of going through the Park alone…"

"Hey, I'm not scared!" Mimi protested. "I'm just... trying to stay safe."

"Oh, you're too cautious," Stacy retorted. "I guess you'll just have to explain this to your parents, if that's the way you want it."

Mimi gulped. Her parents had moved to New York because of her father's business, but they were still paranoid about all the crime and would probably ground her if she wasn't back by her weeknight curfew. If it were Saturday or something, it would be different, but not tonight. The Park was starting to look like the better option.

"Well… you're right," she relented. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Stacy…" Reluctantly, she crossed the street, waving goodbye to her pseudo-friend, as she entered the darkness of the park.

Stacy smiled. Maybe a good old-fashioned mugging would give her a much-needed New York style attitude adjustment.

* * *

Mimi stepped cautiously, hurriedly through the Park, staying near the lampposts for comfort. She clutched her small backpack straps and held her purse close. The shadows around her seemed to be getting blacker by the minute and the trees creaked as the wind blew that night. It was cloudy and when she checked her watch she saw that it was a little after seven and the sun had gone down, meaning that it was going to get even darker soon. Her pace picked up as she glanced nervously at her surroundings. This was a bad idea, but she was more than halfway through the Park, and if she could make it through, she knew she'd be safe.

"Well, hello!" a voice called, drawing a small cry from Mimi as its owner stepped out from behind a bush. "What's a nice girl like you doin' here?"

The boy was older and he wore tattered clothes and bandana around his head. Mimi took a step back.

"One of those Asian chicks," remarked his companion stepping out from behind her. "And I was just thinking I could go for some Chinese."

"I-I'm J-Japanese," Mimi stammered.

A third, emerging from behind a tree, chuckled at that. "Nice to know. Hey, baby, what's in the purse?"

"Uh… nothing," Mimi replied, scrunching herself inward. She noted mentally that they were all dressed the same, with matching bandanas and some kind of symbol hanging from a gold chain around their necks. Her mind raced and made the connection that her parents had so warned her about: gang members.

"Nothing?" the first gang member inquired. "I think you're lying."

"Yeah, that's pretty low, lying to three guys you just met," the second member commented.

"Yeah, you ought to be nice and just let us see what's in the purse, baby," the third said.

Mimi panicked and tried to turn and run, but she realized that she'd backed herself up into a tree. The three young men laughed as she looked around frantically for a place to run in vain.

"Lemme just see that and we'll decide what to do on our date later!" the first one said, snatching the purse from her hands. As Mimi reached for it, another one of them grabbed her from behind and held her arms, twisting one behind her back. She let out a scream, so he put his hand over her mouth, silencing her as she started to cry.

"Aw, there ain't nothing to cry about, baby," the third guffawed. "You couldn't ask for three guys to spend a night with!"

He laughed in spiteful mirth when a rock flew out of the shadows and hit him in the head, knocking him off balance.

"What the—oof!" he grunted as he turned around and was kicked in the stomach. As he collapsed to the ground, his two companions turned and saw the intruder who'd come upon them.

He was wearing a black trench coat, a black t-shirt, and gray cargo pants. His appearance was disheveled and his eyes were as hard and steely gray.

"Hey, who's he, your boyfriend?" the first asked, noticing the boy's Asian appearance.

"Get your greasy hands off her and get out of here before I break your skulls," the boy ordered calmly.

"Oh, it's on now!" the second declared, pushing Mimi roughly to the ground and rushing at the boy. He pulled out a switchblade and slashed at him, but he leapt back easily and then came forward and belted him across the face with such force that he toppled to the ground groaning.

"Next," the boy said, grinning as he looked in the first's direction.

The thug gritted his teeth in anger and drew half of a pool cue from his jacket and dashed at the boy, swinging it wildly. Calmly and deftly, the boy pulled a long steel wrench from his trench coat and first deflected the strike of the pool cue, then ducked below another swing and brought the wrench up into the thug's gut, lifting him off the ground and then throwing him over his shoulder effortlessly.

"Too easy," the boy sniffed.

Mimi watched all of this apprehensively, then called out when she saw the gang members standing and regrouping. "Look out!" she yelled in warning. The boy saw the three preparing to attack and regarded them with obvious boredom.

"You idiots don't know when you're beaten."

"Yeah, well you took us on one at a time," said the first of them. "This time, it's gonna be fair. Three of us, 'gainst just you."

"And my partner," the boy added.

"Partner?" the second asked, puzzled. "What partner?"

The boy didn't speak, but brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled. The ground shook as something very large approached. The three gang members turned to see a huge, black saurian creature as it came up from behind them. Its jaws were lined with long, sharp teeth and its yellow eyes looked down at them menacingly.

"You called?" it said.

The three thugs stared in awe, seemingly unable to move. "He does tricks, too," the boy said. "Venomon, speak!"

It gave a deafening roar and the three of them, terrified, ran for their lives.

As their leader ran past the boy, he put out his foot and tripped him. "Not so fast, you waste of space," he said.

"What are you doing, man? That thing's going to kill me!" the thug demanded as his comrades fled and he scrambled to get up.

"Yeah, he might," the boy said with a yawn. Then the monster bent down and picked up the thug, screaming, by his foot with its teeth.

Mimi was too shocked by all this to say much of anything and watched as the scene unfolded.

"Okay," the boy began, "we're going to have a quick interview. I'm going to ask you two questions. If you give me the answer I want, I'll let you go. If not, Venomon here eats you."

The thug screamed.

"Shut up!" the boy yelled, grabbing the thug's face and holding it close to his own. "Just talk when I ask you to. First question: are you sorry for attacking the girl?"

The thug nodded, gasping for breath in terror.

"Good answer. Second question: are you ever going to come back here again?"

The thug shook his head desperately.

"Very good. Venomon?" The monster complied and let the thug drop. He got to his feet and ran as fast as he could.

"If you ever come back here, you're dinner!" the boy yelled after him. He then went and picked up Mimi's purse from the ground and went over to the shivering girl, whose eyes were wide in fright. She wondered what the boy would do and flinched when he extended his arm.

Then, she saw that he was offering her the purse. She took it uncertainly. The boy nodded, but said nothing else. Then he turned and she saw the huge monster glow and then shrink to a much smaller, four-legged creature.

"This city," he muttered with disgust. "I knew we picked right. Come on, Scarmon," the boy called as he hurried away.

_A digimon?_ Mimi asked, understanding. She saw a familiar object at the boy's waist as he took off and sucked in a breath of air and called out one word desperately: "Digidestined!"

At first she thought he hadn't heard and had left. Then, she heard footsteps slowly returning. The boy looked at her curiously, his digimon by his side.

Mimi took a breath and held up her own digivice. "Digidestined," she replied. "I'm one too."

The boy nodded, understanding. He looked over the girl, who had pink hair, a mid-rift t-shirt with a star across the chest, a white skirt and a pair of white platform shoes. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Mimi Tachikawa," she answered. "What's yours?"

"Jin Takamura," he replied. "What are you doing here? I thought all Digidestined were from Japan."

"Well, that's not really true, but I am Japanese. It's kind of a long story. What about you?"

"I'll bet mine's longer," he laughed harshly. "I'd love to talk with you, but I'll have to meet with you later. I've got to get going if I'm going to find a bed at the shelter."

"The... homeless shelter?" Mimi asked. Jin nodded. "Oh my… you don't have a place to live?"

The boy shook his head. Mimi lowered her head in thought for a moment. "Well, why don't you come spend the night at my apartment?"

Jin was taken aback. "W-what?" He mentally checked himself and stifled a childlike giddiness as he realized that no girl had ever asked him to see her place, let alone "spend the night." Out loud, he said, "Uh, don't you think your parents will be mad about you taking in a bum like me?"

"Not if I tell them you saved me from a bunch of muggers!" she answered, smiling sweetly.

"Well, I don't know if I can accept," Jin explained, scratching his head unsurely.

"Of course we can!" Scarmon piped up. "I'm sick of eating pigeons! Let's get a decent meal and a soft bed for a change! It's like we're still in the Digital World! Just say yes, you dope!"

Jin smiled. "This is Scarmon," he introduced. "And after talking with him, I think I'll take you up on your offer."

* * *

When Mr. and Mrs. Tachikawa came home to their apartment to find a tall, dark, older boy in the living room alone with their 13-year-old daughter, there was, needless to say, a scene. Jin watched without interest as the two adults went head-to-head with Mimi, who tried to explain the situation calmly. Finally, she was able to coax them into their bedroom as Jin sat and watched TV on the couch.

"Are you okay in there, Scarmon?" Jin whispered to his digimon, who was concealed inside a gym bag at his feet.

"You want to warn me next time you stuff me in one of these things?" Scarmon snarled from inside the bag.

"Hey, sorry, I wasn't expecting them to come in so suddenly," Jin apologized. "Anyway, I think she's making some headway with her folks. We'll find out if we get to stay here in a minute or two."

Sure enough, Mimi came out of the room first, followed by her now silent parents. She looked triumphant; they looked nervous.

"Well, young man, it seems we owe you an apology," Mr. Tachikawa said.

"Especially since you did such a brave thing saving our little girl!" chirped Mrs. Tachikawa.

"Mom!" Mimi hissed, embarrassed at being referred to as a "little girl." Jin didn't seem to notice.

"It was my pleasure," Jin replied, getting up from his spot on the sofa. "I hope I'm not imposing."

The pair looked at each other. "Well, we weren't expecting company," Mr. Tachikawa said, "but I think we have a little room for you on the fold out couch. To show our gratitude, we've decided to let you stay with us for a while, until we can find something more… suitable for you."

Jin cracked a smile. "Much appreciated," he said, bowing politely.

The Tachikawa's were fairly impressed by their guest's manners. Jin was something of a ruffian, that was obvious to everyone, including Jin, but it was nice to see he had a civilized side. However, as they sat down to dinner, which was steak that had been grilled out on the balcony, it became apparent that some habits in Jin died hard.

The Tachikawas watched with interest as Jin, out of habit, stabbed it with his fork and began gnawing on it directly. The three of them didn't know what to make of the boy, who was eating the steak and enjoying it immensely, but devoured it so ravenously that in minutes he'd eaten a whole cut of sirloin and was moving on to the next piece. Only halfway through the cut, which he was still eating voraciously, did he look up at the family and met their eyes. He was in the middle of chewing when he saw the shock at his behavior. He swallowed and set his dinner down.

"Uh… sorry," he apologized. "It's just been a while that I've... really eaten with other people at a table like this." He held a fork and knife and cut the steak, continuing the rest of the meal normally.

After that affair, Mr. Tachikawa wasn't quite sure how to speak to the boy and forgot that he was supposed to ask him a few questions until his wife elbowed him in the ribs as a reminder.

"Uh, say, Jin," Mr. Tachikawa began, "we were all wondering where you'd been staying all this time."

"In shelters, halfway houses, and the street," Jin replied simply. "This is really great steak. Haven't had any this good in years. Mm."

"Thanks," he said. "Well, what brings you to New York? You mentioned you were from Tokyo originally."

"There wasn't anything for me there," Jin replied, gulping down his milk. "I came here to find what I was looking for."

"What are you looking for?"

"Hmm... I guess you could say my destiny."

"Your... your what?"

Jin finished chewing and answered, never once meeting their eyes, but remaining focused on his food. "I feel like I'm supposed to come here. Like... you know, my reason for living," he said, as if that were a simple answer.

Mr. and Mrs. Tachikawa looked at each other. Mrs. Tachikawa spurred her husband onward, urging him to continue. "So, it's like a spiritual kind of quest?"

"Mm-hmm," Jin mumbled, spearing himself another cut, showing no signs of slowing. "Something like that."

"Well, what do your parents think about this?"

Jin dropped his fork and knife and they clattered on the plate. He fell deathly silent. Mimi looked to her parents and then to Jin, who seemed upset, but showed no real outward sign of trauma.

"Beats me," he said, and resumed eating.

"Really?" Mr. Tachikawa pressed. "You don't know their thoughts. Your father?"

"Never knew him."

"Your mother?"

Jin gritted his teeth and then did something very peculiar. He put on his sunglasses and only then, when the tinted glass concealed his eyes, did he look up.

"Dead," he replied. "About a year ago. I was... I was _away_ when it happened."

Mimi looked at her new friend with pity, and her parents put their heads down in shame. They now felt guilty about pressing questions on a boy who'd obviously gone through so much already. The rest of the meal was finished in silence.

* * *

"Mimi, will you put these towels in the bathroom?" her mother asked.

"Sure, okay, Mom," Mimi complied. Then, hesitantly, she asked, "Mama, are you mad at me for bringing Jin here?"

Mrs. Tachikawa sighed. "No, honey, I'm just a little sad about the whole situation. I mean, I'm mad that you did something stupid like going through the Park by yourself at night, but I'm also happy you're okay. And for that, we have Jin to thank. He seems like a nice boy, but he has a lot of problems and I don't know if we can help him get through it on our own. I think he ought to go somewhere else eventually, but for now I think it's important that he has a chance to rest. He's obviously been through a lot, so I think we'll let him stay a week while we try to find something permanent."

Mimi smiled. "Okay, Mama," she nodded. "I'll put these towels away now."

Mimi entered the bathroom and put the towels in the closet, when a voice suddenly said, "Can I help you?"

Mimi screamed and dropped the towels in surprise. She turned to see Jin immersed in the bathtub, the surface covered in bubbles to the point of covering all of his body save for his head and shoulders. She stared for a moment, and he stared right back at her.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," he said.

"Uh-huh." She didn't move.

Jin raised an eyebrow at her.

Then realizing what she was doing, she turned away blushing profusely. "I—I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in here!" she stammered.

"It's fine," Jin declared, relaxing. "It's not like you can see anything with these bubbles anyway."

Keeping her eyes to the ceiling, she remarked, "I don't know of too many guys who like bubble baths," trying to make conversation.

"Do you know how long it's been since I've had a bubble bath?" Jin asked. Mimi shook her head. "Five years. Which is also how long I've gone without having a fresh grilled steak like I just did, which is also how long I've gone without TV, which is also how long I've gone without a whole lot of other things you take for granted every day."

Mimi was at a loss for words. "I'm sorry. Why so long?"

Jin's voice softened. "It's okay, and uh," he moaned with pleasure in the tub and stretched his arms, "I'll fill you in when I get out."

"Okay," she agreed. Just then, a burst of bubbles gurgled from the tub. Mimi turned red and bit her lip. "Uh…"

"Oh, grow up," Jin dismissed, trying not to blush as well. "That's just Scarmon."

"Huh?" Mimi asked, confused. In response, Scarmon suddenly surfaced, splashing about wildly.

"I can't believe we ever got along without one of these, Jin!" Scarmon laughed. "We have _got _to get one!"

"Sure, we'll install it in the refrigerator box we've been sleeping in," Jin scoffed. Mimi put away the towels and went to her room hurriedly, leaving the pair to conclude their bath in private.

* * *

When Jin finally emerged, Mimi noticed that he was clean-shaven and he had cut his hair himself. She mentally noted that he looked a lot more handsome now, even though he was wearing his father's old striped bathrobe.

"Well, you wanted to ask me a few questions," he said, Scarmon trailing him. "Ask away."

Mimi was sitting on her bed and Jin took a seat. "Actually, I wanted to tell you my story first. Then, we can compare."

"Great," Jin agreed. "I've never heard the whole story from anyone who knew it anyway."

Mimi went on to tell Jin all about her own experience, of going to the Digital World and getting trapped there, of pursuing Myotismon, of returning to find the Dark Masters and Apocalymon, of the three years that had passed and the rise of the new Digidestined, of the Digimon Emperor who had recently become an ally in their time of need. Jin listened eagerly and nodded when he heard it all, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, that fills in a lot of the gaps," Jin remarked. "I guess I ought to tell you my part now, right?"

Mimi nodded.

Jin took a deep breath and began to tell his tale. He told her of how he was at the same summer camp, but that he had never met up with the other Digidestined, how he had followed them and acquired his crest from Mr. X, and how he had missed them and was stranded in the Digital World. He then told her of how he had spent his time trying to survive day to day until he finally escaped via the Digiport and returned home, only to find that he _had_ no home. Mimi still had a few questions, since Jin had only given her the bare minimum of facts.

"So you have a Crest?"

"Yeah."

"What is the Crest of?"

"It's the Crest of Rage," he answered.

Mimi frowned. "Rage?" she inquired. "That doesn't sound like a good thing."

Jin shrugged. "I think it's necessary. I mean, if it wasn't for anger, nobody would get outraged about things and no one would be motivated to fight against evil." He looked at her with noticeable intensity. "I spent years looking for evil wherever I could find it. As Digidestined, we should be protecting the world from evil by finding it and punishing it, right?" He smiled knowingly. "I mean, isn't anger what motivated you to fight for your friends?"

Mimi shook her head. "It wasn't about that," she replied. "It was about justice."

Jin shrugged. "I don't see a difference," he muttered. "Anything else?"

"Well, I was wondering about how old you are," she asked shyly. "You seem a little older than the others."

Jin shifted in his chair. "Well, that depends on what you mean," he said. "I was born in 1988. When I went to the Digiworld, I was eleven."

"So now, since it's 2002, you're 14," she said.

"By Earth time, yeah," Jin affirmed. "But that's not how I've aged. Think of this: when you were fighting Myotismon, time was passing differently there. In fact, when you returned to the Digiworld, two years had passed since I first came. Then, after you left and time was passing equally in both worlds, three years went by before I could find a way home."

Mimi's mouth dropped open as she understood. "You spent five years there," she breathed. "You're sixteen years old."

"Bingo," he said, smiling ruefully. "Imagine how surprised I was to come back and find I got a few years back, so to speak."

"So that makes you the oldest Digidestined!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, lucky me," he remarked sarcastically.

Mimi looked down. "What about your Mom?"

Again his expression changed. His lower lip quivered momentarily and he looked away before putting on his sunglasses again. Once again he seemed to calm down. "I... wanted to see her. We never got along very well, but she was the only family I had. When I checked out the old place, though, I found out that she died while I was in the Digital World. They told me that... they said she..." He trailed off there, and Mimi wondered why he wouldn't want to say how she passed away.

"I'm sorry," Mimi said quietly. "Oh Jin, I'm so sorry! We didn't know about you, or we would have tried to take you with us!"

"It's all in the past now," he dismissed. Mimi reached out to put her hand on his shoulder, but he brushed it away defensively. Scarmon looked up at his partner with concern, then went back to lying on the carpet. Mimi was a little startled, but Jin seemed not to notice his own action and regarded the hurt in her eyes with curiosity, as if he didn't even realize that he was the reason. Mimi let it slide and smiled at her guest.

"Why don't you go get some rest on the couch?" she suggested. "I've got school tomorrow, but in the afternoon, I promise I'll show you around the city, since you're new."

Jin grinned. "I'd like that," he commented, and went to bed, Scarmon trailing him.

* * *

"So, nice place, eh?" Scarmon asked.

"Yeah," Jin agreed. "They're all nice. We have to give them a heads up before we go through with the plan."

"We make the first move in two days, right?"

"Exactly. Just two days. Better get your rest."

* * *

Mimi sat in class the next day wondering what she and Jin could do that afternoon and made a list. However something was bothering her as she thought more and more about her odd guest. He seemed like a good guy, but there was an aspect of his personality that made her uneasy, as if he was hiding something dark and ugly. She tried to tell herself that it was just paranoia, but to no avail. Finally, at lunch, she decided to put her mind at ease.

She logged onto a computer and got onto her webmail and sent a message to someone who could help her.

It was still way too early, or late, to call anyone personally, but she knew that Izzy would be able to help her out once he was awake.

That afternoon, Mimi arrived home and called for Jin. "Jin, are you here?"

"Yeah," he called, "I'm in the living room."

Mimi followed his voice and came upon an odd sight. Jin had taken off his shirt and was doing pushups on the floor. The really impressive thing was that he was doing it one-handed and bracing himself only on his left thumb and index finger. Mimi had suspected he was very strong based on his performance in Central Park the previous night, but now she saw that he was in top condition, his body covered in muscles that bulged as he exercised.

"Umm…"

"Have a good day?" he asked nonchalantly.

"What? Oh, fine," she answered distractedly. "Do you, uh… exercise a lot?"

"I got used to it trying to stay alive in the Digital World. It's just become a habit." He seemed not to notice her staring. She snapped out of it when she saw that his body was actually covered with several different wounds and marks. Small scars, burns, and other things dotted his skin, but the most impressive one was a large vertical scar that went from his lower back, around his side and up to his ribcage. What caused the injury, she didn't know, but it had to have been serious. _And he did all that without a doctor?_ she thought._ Oh my god, that looks like it should have killed him..._

He finished, not even breaking a sweat, and put on his shirt. "So, where are we going today?" he asked.

* * *

Mimi showed him everything. Despite Jin's travels, he'd never really bothered to take in the scenery and, as a consequence, never had a chance to enjoy what New York City had to offer.

She showed him the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Staten Island Ferry, Rockefeller Center, and Times Square. The sights and sounds seemed to really impress Jin, and he watched everything intently, hanging on Mimi's every word. When it got late, the pair stopped at a nice Italian restaurant and shared a pizza at an outdoor table. Scarmon, who'd been posing as a dog all this time, was given a few slices as well.

"This isn't bad, but I still prefer the ground beef you gave me earlier," Scarmon commented, devouring his slice.

"Yeah, I know you prefer fresh meat, buddy," Jin laughed, "but Mimi and I don't really have the option of eating something that's still mooing, okay?"

Mimi smiled at Jin. "Did you have fun, today?" she asked.

"Yeah!" he replied, beaming. "It was great. Thanks for the tour."

"You're welcome. Is there anything else you wanted to see before we go home?"

"I don't know," he said uncertainly, looking at her slyly. "Are you sure you want to stay out late? I mean, you just got mugged last night."

"Well, if we run into anyone else," she grinned, "I've got you around to protect me."

The two laughed softly and took in the sight of each other. Her, the sweet, bubbly girl with an outgoing personality. He, the dark, brooding stranger with a survivalist's perspective. The pair gazed into each other's eyes, momentarily losing themselves in the other. They could have stayed like that for quite a while, were it not for Scarmon's intervention.

The reptilian digimon was getting a little fed up of being the third wheel in the group and, while he was glad Jin was enjoying himself, he wasn't one to be ignored. With that in mind, he chomped down on Jin's leg.

"Ow!" he shouted irritably, brought out of his stupor. "What was that for?"

"A reality check!" hissed Scarmon. "Do that on your own time. I want another one of those bubble bath things, so hurry this up."

"What did he say?" Mimi asked curiously.

"Nothing," Jin answered. "He, uh, was just kind of curious about those two buildings over there."

He pointed and Mimi looked in the direction indicated.

"Oh, that's the World Trade Center," she replied. "Those two towers are the tallest buildings in New York."

Jin seemed surprised. "You mean it's not the Empire State Building?"

Mimi shook her head.

"I didn't know…" he murmured. "So, is it kind of important to New York?"

Mimi shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much. It's part of the skyline of the city. Without it, I don't think the city would be the same."

Jin smiled. "Well, let's take a quick tour," he said. "I've got to see this."

* * *

That night, Jin turned in early, for some reason. Mimi was reading an assignment for school when the phone rang.

"Mimi?" a familiar voice asked.

"Izzy!" Mimi exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Very well, thanks," he responded. "I called to say that I acquired the information you requested. I was very impressed to hear of your discovery of a new Digidestined, not to mention one with an experience so similar to our own."

"So, what did you find out about him?"

"Well, I enlisted Tentomon to do some investigation in the Digiworld, and he came across several recorded accounts of a little known Digidestined that traveled the planet over the past five years. In addition, I checked my sources to find information here about a Jin Takamura."

"Did he tell me the truth?" Mimi asked hopefully.

Izzy paused. "Well, yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

"What he told you was true: he did go to the same summer camp and he was a resident at Heighten View Terrace at the time of the digimon attack, and a lot of the other information I found was contained in missing child reports his late mother apparently filed."

"It's sad, isn't it?" Mimi asked.

"I was sorry to hear about his predicament as well," Izzy agreed. "However, the part of his story I received from Tentomon indicates something more disturbing, as well as some other information I ran across here."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that before he went to the Digital World, he was arrested on suspicion of arson, burglary, pick-pocketing, and a lot of other small crimes, although nothing ever stuck. It's a wonder he stayed out of juvenile hall.

"Then there's his history in the Digital World. From what I can piece together, he tried to be something of a vigilante, hunting down small groups of evil digimon. He never fought the Dark Masters, but he eliminated many of their soldiers. During the three years of peace before Ken's time as the Digimon Emperor, he continued being the policeman of the world."

"So he's a hero," Mimi declared.

"Not... well, not exactly," Izzy corrected. "True, he wasn't hurting innocent digimon, but it's the description of him that has me worried. The information Tentomon gave me is that he did it ruthlessly, going after all the so-called evil digimon he could find and... destroying them."

"Destroying them?"

"He built a reputation for not letting anyone go except to spread the word about him. From major villains to the average thieves, he was merciless. There are some places that are really terrified of humans because of him. He was like a Boogieman to every digimon who stepped out of line. He tore through whole communities of digimon thieves and gangs, letting none escape, showing no mercy. It's like he held all evil digimon responsible for his problems. The two of them even got a nickname: they called him 'The Plague.'"

"The Plague? Like a disease?" Mimi asked.

"Yes, because of the way he struck down anything in his way," Izzy explained. "From what I can tell, he did a lot of fighting for the fun of it. The only thing that is fairly consistent in all accounts is that he would always say the same thing after every attack: 'Evil will be punished; I will be free.' Whatever it means, I think it's safe to say that he's not the nicest guy in the world, regardless of if he's one of us or not."

Mimi was silent. Was this really the same person who had come to her rescue, who had so graciously accepted her hospitality, who had become her friend?

Izzy seemed to sense her disconcertion and tried to comfort her. "Listen, Mimi, just because that's who he _was_ doesn't mean that's who he _is_. He could be completely different now. I'm just telling you all the facts so you can be careful."

"I see," she said. "Thanks, Izzy. Let me know if you find anything else about him."

"I will. Take care, Mimi."

After they had both hung up, Mimi went in to check on Jin, who was sleeping on the folded out couch. She could see he wasn't sleeping peacefully, though. He tossed and turned, grunting and making faces of either fear or pain, as if he was trapped in some kind of horrible nightmare. She wondered to herself what the true nature was of this young man who she had so freely taken in, knowing now what he was capable of.

* * *

The next day, Jin and Scarmon were relatively quiet. They weren't really unsociable, they simply made themselves scarce whenever Mimi was around, though she couldn't figure out why. Her mother left her a note telling her to go to the store for her, so, reluctantly, she left Jin and Scarmon alone in the apartment.

When she was gone, Jin looked to Scarmon. "We'd better hurry. I'd better double-check our sources if we're going to be ready tonight."

"Yeah, no kidding," Scarmon agreed. "I thought she'd never leave."

"Watch it," Jin scolded. "I like her. I've decided: we have to give her a warning before we go through with the plan."

"You think she's innocent?"

Jin nodded. "She's the exception. Her folks, too. I think she'll understand."

* * *

Mimi returned home quietly, still mulling over what Izzy had told her. As she unpacked the groceries, she heard Jin's voice in her room. He sounded agitated and was talking to someone over the phone. She carefully made her way nearer to listen in, noticing Scarmon had fallen asleep in the hall and trying not to awaken him.

"Come on, I need to know now!" Jin was saying. "Listen, I did your group a favor… I got you the money, didn't I?… Never mind how I was able to stop a highway bound armored car by myself, you got paid, didn't you?… That's right… Uh-huh… You're sure they'll be on that street?… At one o'clock or so, right?… Uh-huh… Uh-huh… three guards is all, right?… Three _plus _the driver?... Okay, but remember, I didn't do a favor for you to get stabbed in the back… All right, thanks for the info… Right, bye."

Mimi peeked through the partially opened door and saw him scribble an address and a time on a pad of paper, though she couldn't see what it said. He tore the sheet off and stuffed it in his pocket. Thinking fast, she put on a smile and knocked on the door.

"What?" he yelled in surprise.

"Hi, I'm home!" she greeted cheerily.

"Oh… didn't hear you come in," he said, calming down. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, nothing," Mimi replied innocently. "I just wanted to know what you were going to do tonight."

"Actually, I've got an errand to run," he answered. "But I'll be back late tomorrow morning, so don't worry. Hey, Scarmon!"

Scarmon yawned and stretched his forelegs as he stood. "Are we heading out?"

"Not until later," he answered. "Let's get you a bath." Scarmon perked and the two went to the bathroom, closing the door behind them.

Mimi watched all of this with a growing sense of malaise. Something was very wrong, and if she didn't do something about it, things were going to get worse.

Ignoring her mental protests that she shouldn't snoop, she unzipped Jin's backpack, which he carried with him everywhere, and searched inside. She saw something shining inside and pulled it out. She almost screamed when she saw what it was.

It was a gun. The boy had been carrying around a gun. On further investigation, she found several things that looked like homemade bombs and grenades. Apparently, Jin's mechanical skills were being put to work on weaponry, and he was armed to the teeth.

So as to avoid arousing suspicion, she replaced the weapons and resealed the backpack. Then, she went to the pad of paper Jin had written on, seeing the fresh sheet there. He had the location of wherever he was going tonight, but she thought of a way to get it as well.

Taking a pencil, she scribbled across the pad lightly. Soon, the pencil marks on the paper were broken by the words written on the sheet formerly above it, the impressions being skipped over with the pencil. She took the address and pocketed it, grinning momentarily at her own cleverness (or at least her ability to memorize things from detective shows). Now, she had a plan forming, but she needed some help.

And she knew where to get it.

* * *

It was nearing one o'clock in the morning and Jin Takamura stood on a roof on the quiet street, binoculars in hand as he waited impatiently. "See anything?" Jin asked. His vision with binoculars was good, but even with the extended sight, Scarmon had night vision as a primarily nocturnal digimon.

"No, not—hold on," he corrected. "Yeah, here it comes. Right on schedule."

Jin looked through his binoculars and saw the armored car making its way up the street. He smiled. His informant had been right and a small shipment of weapons was passing through New York on the way to a security firm. He knew there would be questions about where he was when he returned to the Tachikawas, but once he acquired the weapons he needed, he would store them in a private place he'd prepared for the occasion.

"Ready?" Jin asked.

"Willing and able," Scarmon replied.

Jin lowered his binoculars and picked up Scarmon. He waited until the timing was just right and then, when it was time, he tossed Scarmon off the roof and into the air.

"Now!" Jin exclaimed.

_"Scarmon digivolve to… Venomon!"_

Venomon digivolved in midair, landing atop the armored car and so surprising the driver that he swerved wildly into a streetlight, practically doing the job for his attacker.

"What is that thing?" demanded the guard.

"I don't know and I don't care!" the driver exclaimed. "Just get it!"

The two drew their weapons and leapt from the car, ready to fire on the huge black monster. Venomon moved with astonishing speed for such a large creature and batted the two away with his tail. They fell to the ground, unconscious. The third and fourth guards leapt from the back of the car and also prepared to fire, but Venomon was ready for them as well and butted one into a nearby building with his head and simply kicked away the other with his powerful leg. Then he tipped the car onto its side, dumping the contents out onto the street.

"Great work, Venomon," Jin congratulated, coming up with a large bag. "Now let's get this stuff and move before the cops show up. And they will after all that."

Jin went to the back of the truck and examined the bounty of weapons: sub-machine guns, grenades, plastique, and, most importantly, portable rocket launchers. In short, everything he needed for his plan. He unzipped his bag and started to load things up.

"Jin! Stop!"

Jin, shocked at the sound of his name, looked in the direction of the voice and saw Mimi. At her side was a small, plant-like digimon with a flower blooming on her head.

"M-Mimi? What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to stop you, Jin," she answered. "I don't know what you're doing, but it can't be good."

Jin scowled. "You don't understand," he said. "This has to be done. It's all part of the plan."

Then the plant digimon stepped forward. "Listen to her!" she ordered. "Whatever the plan is, it can't be good if it hurts someone!"

Jin shook his head. "You just haven't realized it," he said, "but I'm in the middle of a war, here, and I intend to fight it to the end."

"The name is Palmon," she corrected, scowling at him. "And if you aren't going to stop yourself, then I'll have to do it for you."

Venomon stepped between the two.

"Wait! We don't have to fight about this!" Mimi protested.

"I think you're outnumbered on this one, Mimi," Jin remarked, continuing to load the weapons. "Well, if your digimon wants a fight, Venomon'll give it to her." He looked to Venomon. "Try not to hurt her, but take her down."

Venomon rushed at the Rookie, jaws wide.

_"Palmon digivolve to… Togemon!"_

Venomon was hit with an uppercut and staggered back, examining his new foe. Before him was a cactus wearing boxing gloves. And it looked like it was ready to get tough. Venomon grinned... it had been too long since he had a decent foe.

_"Venom Spit!"_ he attacked. The glob hit Togemon, burning her skin, but, as a plant digimon, the attack wasn't as effective as it might have been on an animal. Shaking off the pain, Togemon countered with a left jab, then a right, knocking Venomon further back in the street.

_"Needle Spray!"_ she attacked, sending a shower of needles into Venomon, who groaned in pain and tumbled to the ground, nearly onto Jin, who leapt back to avoid being pinned.

"Looks like they mean business," Jin said bitterly. "Think you can manage?" Venomon nodded. Jin removed his Crest and held it up as it began to glow.

_"Venomon digivolve to… SkullVenomon!"_

Togemon looked nervous. Her newly digivolved foe was a lot bigger than Venomon, not to mention herself. SkullVenomon was massive, covered in bony plates and as fearsome as digimon came, in her opinion.

_"Tail Axe!"_ SkullVenomon bellowed, whirling around and slicing Togemon with the bony protrusions on his tail. Togemon staggered back, a deep gash in her side. She groaned in pain, but was still able to fight.

_"Needle Spray!"_ Her second strike was not as successful as the first, and the needles were deflected by the plates on her opponents body, leaving them to fall to the ground uselessly.

"You call that an attack?" SkullVenomon laughed. "Now _this _is an attack! _Nightmare Scream!"_

The black column of dark energy slammed into Togemon, thrashing her repeatedly and driving her farther up the street. Mimi ran after her.

"Togemon! Are you alright?" she cried.

"Not really… I got it pretty bad…" Togemon replied, trying to catch her breath. "I ought to de-digivolve… and rest."

Mimi looked down the street and saw Jin busily stashing away his weapons. He was going to get away if he wasn't stopped quickly.

"Togemon… do you think you can digivolve again?"

Togemon stood up on wobbly legs. "It's been so long… I'm not sure, and without the crest..."

"We've got to try," Mimi said determinedly. "We have to stop him before he does something he'll regret!" Dimly, almost imperceptibly, the symbol of the Crest of Sincerity glowed, flickering upon her chest. Then, slowly, it began to grow brighter, gaining strength until it was shining brightly.

_"Togemon digivolve to… Lilymon!"_

The fairy digimon, her leaf-like wings fluttering rapidly, sped toward the gigantic SkullVenomon.

"The bugs in New York get awfully big!" SkullVenomon laughed haughtily. _"Nightmare Scream!"_

The attack missed, however, as Lilymon was just too fast and too small to be hit by the powerful, but slow attack. _"Flower Cannon!"_ she countered, and fired a blast into SkullVenomon's side.

Although he was covered with exoskeletal plating, there were gaps in the armor, and the blast struck home, impacting on the unprotected flesh of his upper torso. He roared in pain and slashed wildly with his bony claws.

Lilymon proved more than capable of dodging his attack, however, and zipped away without SkullVenomon even coming close. Now the advantage of her size was becoming clear. True, if she was caught she was in trouble, but SkullVenomon was big and awkward, and his plating so bulky it cramped his movements, making him helpless against her faster attacks.

_"Flower Garland!"_ she attacked, and tied the garland fast around his neck. Even as he struggled to remove the restraining noose, Lilymon was making her move. She flew underneath him and aimed her weapon straight up. _"Flower Cannon!"_

The attack hit SkullVenomon in his soft, unprotected underbelly, causing him to double up in pain, collapse, and de-digivolve.

"I got him!" Lilymon cried triumphantly. Mimi ran over to congratulate her partner when an explosion rocked the street. It knocked Lilymon out of the air and forced her to return to her Rookie level. Mimi turned and saw the reason for this.

Jin was holding up the rocket launcher and smoke was emanating from the barrel. He had blasted Lilymon himself.

"Palmon!" Mimi went over to the injured Palmon as Jin gathered up Scarmon and his bag of weaponry. "Palmon, are you okay?" The digimon nodded, then passed out. Mimi picked up her partner and then gave chase after Jin.

Jin turned around, however, ready for her. Mimi was shocked to find herself staring down the barrel of a gun aimed at her head.

His eyes flickered uncertainly for a moment, but he drew his sunglasses from his pocket and put them over his eyes. He became calmer and brought the gun closer to her face, menacingly. He growled at Mimi, sounding less like a human and more like a rabid dog. "You shouldn't have interfered, Mimi-chan," he said. "We didn't have to be enemies, but, like I said, I'm fighting a war, and if you aren't with me, you're against me."

Tears came to Mimi's eyes as he pushed the gun into her face. She couldn't speak. Terrified, she closed her eyes. "Please, Jin, I... I don't understand..."

Then, Jin stepped back a little, giving her some space. "You showed me some hospitality, though, and for that I'm grateful," he continued. "That's why I'm giving you a warning: take your family and get out of New York and don't come back for a couple of days. But don't let me see you again, Mimi. Because if you do, I'll ruin that pretty little face of yours beyond recognition."

With those final, vicious words, Jin turned and ran off, disappearing down a dark alley. Mimi's knees went weak and she let herself drop to the hard pavement, shaking uncontrollably and sobbing hysterically. A police siren was heard approaching from far off in the night.

**To be continued…**

****_(Next time: In the final chapter, Jin Takamura prepares to put his plan into action. Meanwhile, Mimi does her best to stop things from spiraling out of control and enlists friends to help her to stop Jin before it's too late...)  
_


	5. Beauty and The Beast

_(Author's Note: Once again, this story was originally written in February 2001. I ask that one keep that in mind while reading it.)_

**Unintended, Part 5**

**"Beauty and the Beast"**

Jin strode in darkness. All around him, infinite emptiness stretched. There was nothing here except for himself and his own thoughts. Only he existed. Nothing else dwelled here.

Then, he heard a voice. It was a woman, calling his name sharply, over and over again. "Jin… Jin…"

"Hello?" he called. "Who's there?"

"Jin… come here, Jin…"

"You'd better come out," Jin warned. "I can handle anything you've got!"

"Jin…"

"Why are you hiding? Show yourself!"

"Jin Takamura!" an all-too-familiar voice screeched. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

Jin staggered back. "No! Please, not again!"

"You rotten little kid!" the woman shouted, stepping out of the shadows in full view. Her eyes were glazed over and unfocused. "It's because of you that I... that I..."

"No!" he cried, and found his voice had been raised in pitch. He looked down and found himself in the body of an eleven year-old child, small and weak. "I didn't mean to!"

"You always say that," the voice scolded, "but you never change. The reason you left was because you are a bad little boy who was supposed to do good. And you failed miserably. You will never be free as long as you stay as you are!"

"I'm trying!" he protested, his voice and body getting smaller. "Please believe me! Soon, I'll get rid of all the bad people! I'll make it up to you!"

"You can't _ever _make it up to me!" the voice snarled. "And it's because of you that I died! _You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"_

The voice withdrew slowly and Jin chased helplessly after it. "Please don't go," he begged, tears spilling over his cheeks. "Please! Mommy! Don't leave me, Mommy! I'll be a good boy! Mommy! _Mommy!"_

Jin woke up with a start, a cold sweat drenching his body. He gasped for air and then realized where he was. He was back in the warehouse, tangled in the blankets he'd found, Scarmon asleep nearby.

He sighed and fell back, relaxing. It was only a dream. But still, it remained clear… he had to do this, to make up for his transgressions. As the bearer of the Crest of Rage, it was his job to use his anger to get vengeance on the scum of the earth. It was soon, now. Very soon he would punish evil. Very soon he would be free.

* * *

Mimi hugged her father tightly as she wept in his arms. He had been awakened by his daughter early that morning and she had fallen onto him, too upset to speak clearly. When she finally did speak, she merely said, "Jin's gone."

He tried his best to comfort her, not really sure what to say. "I'm sorry, honey," he soothed. "I mean, I know you liked him. We all did. But I guess he was just a charmer. I know you must be sorry that he took advantage of us and left so suddenly."

Mimi looked up, puzzled. "That's not why I'm crying, Daddy," she said.

"It isn't?" he thought, thinking _Oh, great, were they dating?_

"I'm crying because," she sniffed, "he's alone out there and he needs help. I think something's really wrong with him, and... he might do something he'll regret if someone doesn't find him!"

"Well, we'll call the police and see if they can find him," Mr. Tachikawa said.

Mimi didn't respond. She knew that they wouldn't be able to stop him. She wasn't even sure he could be stopped. But she had to try. She knew in her heart that Jin was planning something catastrophic. She had to stop him, help him, and soon, because if she didn't, something terrible was going to happen.

* * *

"So, that's it, eh?" the boy asked.

Mimi nodded. "I think you and I ought to look for him, Michael," she said to her friend. "We just need to talk to him."

"He sounds like he's got an attitude problem, to say the least," he remarked. "Are you sure we shouldn't just try to capture him, turn him over to the police?"

Mimi shook her head. "He's a Digidestined, Michael. We ought to help him, give him a chance."

Michael nodded. "All right, Mimi," he agreed. "I'll help you search, but I want you to know that if he tries to fight, I won't back down. Isn't that right, Betamon?"

The amphibian digimon nodded emphatically. "Right! I'm not scared of him or any Venomon or whatever his name is!"

Mimi nodded. "Okay, but just be careful. I have to check on Palmon and then we'll get moving."

Mimi went to her room and opened the closet door. Palmon was lying on a pile of clothes that had been set there for her. "How are you, Palmon?" Mimi asked.

"Better," she grinned. "But still pretty tired."

"Did that grenade really hurt you that badly as Lilymon?" she asked.

Palmon shook her head. "That's not it," she corrected. "It took a lot out of me to digivolve to the Ultimate level. I mean, it's great that I did it without the Crest, but digivolving without it really took a lot out of me. I'll need to rest for a while before I can face Jin's digimon again. I can barely even move!"

Mimi nodded. "Okay, well try to get some sleep. Don't let my parents find you while Michael, Betamon and I look for Jin. I don't want them to worry." Leaving her partner to doze, she crept out of the apartment and began her search.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the train station, someone else who was aware of recent events was just stepping off the train. He stretched and yawned.

"Are you sure we have to do this?" a voice asked from inside the bag he was carrying. "I mean, can't we just visit with your relatives, like we're supposed to?"

"No," the boy said firmly. "Izzy told me about this guy and I did some research on him. Mimi will need our help."

"You think we can beat him?" asked a second voice.

"With you guys? No problem!" the boy exclaimed. "But let's hope it doesn't come to that, okay Gummimon, Cocomon?"

"Okay, Willis," they said in unison.

* * *

The sun was shining overhead and a warm breeze was blowing, but Jin couldn't feel any of it. Everywhere he went he felt a chill. It was this city. This big, bright stinking city. New York. This was his target. This was the thing he had to attack. Evil was everywhere, sending a chill up his spine. He felt dark forces gathering all around him, trying to keep him from his mission.

He would not let that happen, though. Scarmon was resting, taking a breather as he recuperated from his battle last night. If he was going to pull off the task at hand, he'd need all the energy he could muster, and that meant plenty of rest and plenty of food. Fresh food. The problem was finding it. He was out of money and he didn't want to run the risk of mugging anyone in broad daylight. He supposed that he would have to steal something, however, and since it was a necessity, he decided that he might as well take it from the most direct source, with the least ability to resist.

* * *

"So, this is the guy we're looking for?" Michael asked.

"Uh-huh," Mimi affirmed. "Jin and I took that picture yesterday. We stopped at a photo booth. I had to tickle him to get him to smile, but he finally did."

"Hmm," Michael hummed, scrutinizing the photo. "He has a thing for black, doesn't he? Not exactly cheery, by any stretch of the imagination."

"No, but you should see the way he and Scarmon get along," she commented. "It's kind of sweet."

Michael nodded absently as he scanned his surroundings. The pair of humans and Betamon, who was keeping himself tucked in a backpack, were going through Central Park, which Mimi had proposed as a likely hangout for a guy who'd spent so much time with nature, not to mention the fact that it was the place where she'd first met Jin. Michael didn't see him, however, nor did Betamon, whose primary concern seemed to be keeping his hide moist and continually urged him to stop at drinking fountains and ponds along the way.

The two emerged from the park, tired and a little disillusioned.

"How are we supposed to find him in this city?" Michael demanded. "He's only one boy and this city is huge. We'd be much better off waiting for his next move."

"It might be too late then," Mimi disagreed. "The sooner we get to him, the better. I think he likes coming out at night, which is when he'll make a move and when we won't be expecting him."

Michael sighed. He supposed Mimi was right, since Jin did have an Ultimate level digimon, but he figured that he couldn't be all that tough, with Palmon being able to defeat him by herself. And with himself and Seadramon, he was outnumbered _and _outgunned. Still, Mimi was his friend and if she asked for his help, he felt obliged to do so.

"Hey! You! Get back here with that meat, you punk!" a voice yelled suddenly.

_Meat?_ Mimi thought. She looked across the street and saw the neighborhood butcher shop and the butcher outside it calling after the thief who'd apparently ripped him off. Then it hit her: the fresh meat had to be for someone and her instincts told her that it must be for Scarmon.

Dragging Michael along, they dashed in the direction of the fleeing thief and Mimi saw a familiar tall, dark stranger as he plowed through the crowd that stood in his way. _Jin._

"That's him!" she cried, pointing him out.

Michael was quick to give chase, spotting the trench coat wearing fugitive easily and running to catch up.

"No, wait!" Mimi cried, trying to catch up and not doing a very good job of it in her platform shoes. She watched helplessly as Michael left her behind, following Jin around the corner.

Michael lost sight of Jin in the crowd of people and had to nearly push them out of the way to keep up, but when he was further along he saw no one nearby and decided to let Betamon join in the search. The frog-like digimon hopped out of his backpack and hopped along at his side as they made their way down the street.

"I don't see him, Michael," Betamon said.

"I know he's nearby," Michael insisted. "We just need to keep our eyes open."

The two walked past an alley and Michael suddenly heard a sharp _thump_ sound. He whirled around to see Betamon flying over the street and crashing down on the other side.

"Betamon!" he cried. "Are you all _grk-"_ He was cut short as he was seized around the neck from behind with a cord. Jin had stepped out of the alley and now had Michael right where he wanted him.

"You know, as good as I am at punting runts like that, I might have to move here and start playing American football!" he laughed cruelly.

"You hurt Betamon, you... jerk!" Michael hissed, finding it difficult to breathe.

Jin laughed a second time as his prisoner struggled. He was fighting with all his might to get free, but he was slowly starting to realize how strong Jin was. He hadn't really understood that Jin was not merely formidable, but exceptionally powerful. Jin overwhelmed Michael easily and showed no signs of easing his hold.

"You know, you seem like a real Boy Scout," Jin remarked, almost casually. "Were you ever in Scouts?"

Michael nodded in response, still struggling.

"Well, let's see how much you learned. You see, I couldn't keep Scarmon digivolved all the time whenever I wanted some food, in which case I made traps using things like rope. I learned how to tie a whole bunch of knots, even if I never learned the real names. But let's see if you can use your knot tying skills to save yourself now."

With that, Jin tightened the rope around his neck even tighter, cutting into Michael's flesh and cutting off his air in strangulation. Then, he fastened this noose with a complex knot.

"Wise up, weakling," Jin snarled as Michael's struggling became intensified, "I'm nobody you want to mess with. This ought to get you and Mimi the message that I'm dead serious. I'm not helping you out on this one, wuss. You either untie that knot or you suffocate. It doesn't matter to me, but next time, I won't even give you a fighting chance. Get out of town if you know what's good for you."

With that, he shoved Michael into the wall and let him drop to the ground as he took off with his stolen meat.

Michael tried to breathe as best he could, but found it impossible. The pain in his neck was bad, but the pain in his lungs was worse. Frantically, he reached around his neck and tried to undue the knot. However, without being able to see the knot and not knowing what kind it was just by the feel of it, he wasn't sure how to untie it. In desperation, he first tried to pull it apart by finding loose loops, but found none. Then, when that didn't work, he resorted to clawing at the rope with his bare hands. Time was running out, though, and he was getting light headed, dizzy, and his vision was getting bright. He fell to the ground helplessly.

Just then, Betamon came over and gasped as he saw his partner in such danger. Ignoring the pain in his side where Jin had kicked him, he tried to get the knot himself. Without anything resembling fingers, any knowledge of knots, or teeth to cut the rope, he couldn't manage it and resorted to his last tactic.

"Somebody help!" he shouted, not caring who heard. "Please, he needs help!"

Michael only barely heard him as he began to lose consciousness. This seemed like the end. Then, taking one last glance up, he saw a pair of white shoes and heard a scream that sounded very far away.

"Michael!" Mimi cried. "What is it?"

Michael's face was reddish purple as he looked at her, his eyes pleading with her in stark terror. _Help me,_ he mouthed.

Mimi went to the back of his neck and saw the knot. After a moment or two of trying to undo the knot, it finally slipped off and Michael gasped for air, drinking it in deeply as Betamon hopped over and tried to determine if he was all right.

When he had somewhat caught his breath, he gazed up at Mimi with a look of bewilderment. "Jin..." he gasped. "He tried to kill me..."

* * *

Michael seemed okay back at Mimi's apartment. He was rubbing his neck and wincing, and it was red and would probably bruise over, but other than that, he was fairly quiet. Mimi felt terrible about what happened, but wasn't sure what to do about it. In a way, she felt partially responsible, since she had brought Michael into this. He was just trying to help and he'd almost perished in the process.

"I'm really sorry about what happened," she said finally. "I never meant for you to get hurt."

"You don't need to apologize," he replied. "After all, it wasn't you who did it. It was that… that _animal_ back there!"

The sudden ferocity in his voice took Mimi by surprise. She didn't blame him for being angry, but she also felt the need to speak up for Jin.

"He's not really such a bad guy," Mimi told him.

"You could have fooled me," Michael grumbled.

"He really isn't so bad," she continued. "He's a good person deep down—"

"Oh wake up, Mimi!" Michael exclaimed. "You see this mark on my neck? Good people don't do that. Good people don't play sick games like 'Untie the knot or die!' Good people treat other people with dignity. Not like that… that… savage!"

Mimi winced as he shouted, but refused to yield. "He's not really like that," she insisted. "He's really kind of… sweet. He's like a little kid!"

Michael looked at her oddly for a moment. Then a look of slow realization took hold of his features. "Oh, I see how it is," he said slowly and, Mimi thought, accusingly. He sat down and looked at her, as if he was seeing her more clearly.

"What?" she asked, not understanding.

"You've got a crush on him."

"I do not!" she denied angrily. "I would defend him even if I had no feelings for him at all!"

"Why don't you take a closer look at it, Mimi? He's our enemy and we have to stop him, even if you're boy-crazy."

Mimi's response came quick and fierce. A sharp crack was heard, followed by a frustrated cry as she stomped off to her room and slammed the door. It wasn't until she was gone and the sting set in that Michael realized that he'd been slapped.

"That hurt," he mumbled, wincing as he looked at the hand-shaped welt on his face.

"I hate to say it, but you had that one coming," Betamon spoke up. He'd been watching all that time and even he knew better than to say something like that to a human girl. And then he noticed the look of sadness in Michael's eyes. "Michael, what is it?"

"I... no, it's nothing, she's just my friend and I... don't want to see her upset."

* * *

Mimi, meanwhile, was getting a sympathetic ear from Palmon.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," Palmon offered. "He's just upset over what happened today."

"Yeah," agreed Mimi. "I just wish that Michael knew the same Jin that I met. You never saw the way he and Scarmon got along. There's something he's keeping hidden, but I know that I could find it if I could talk to him."

_And, _she told herself, _Michael's not entirely wrong about how I feel. _She shook her head, telling herself that it didn't make a difference. Now was not the time to let a crush blind her.

"I hope you're right, Mimi," Palmon said. "If he attacks with an ultimate digimon, a lot of people could get hurt. I hate to agree with Michael on this, but we have to stop him somehow, and we might not be able to count on him being so nice."

* * *

"Knock, knock," Jin called, rapping on the door to the warehouse.

"What's the password?" Scarmon asked.

"I've got fresh meat."

"That isn't it, but I'll overlook it this time," Scarmon chuckled, leaping up and knocking the lock loose.

"I got you some ground chuck, a steak and some chicken," Jin said, entering his base of operations. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much. A good meal ought to get me back up to full strength."

Jin smiled, taking out the steak. "Well then, chow down, little buddy!" He tossed it into the air and the reptilian digimon snatched it out of the air with ease, tearing into it ravenously.

"I can't believe I ever got along without prime rib," Scarmon mumbled as he ate. "Next chance we get, we've got to hunt down whatever this came from so we can get it fresh!"

"A cow? Not much of a challenge, Scarmon."

"All the better! You and me can live like kings here, Jin! Almost a shame we're going to wreck up a place like this."

Jin stopped and looked to his partner. "Are you having second thoughts? I mean, do you think this isn't the right thing to do?"

"I think they have good food here," Scarmon replied. "You're my partner and my best friend, Jin. If you want to do this, then I'll be right there to help."

Jin looked at Scarmon with something near to wonder. "You'd do anything for me, wouldn't you?"

Scarmon looked up from his meal, licking his chops. With a toothy grin, he nodded. "Absolutely. No questions asked."

Jin was quiet for a minute. Then, to Scarmon's surprise, he walked over and picked him, hugging him to his chest. He didn't say anything, but embraced him firmly, as if he didn't want to let go. Scarmon was silent, a bit confused by Jin's sudden show of affection. However, he enjoyed the warm sensation of being held by the boy and didn't resist him.

After another minute, Jin wordlessly put his digimon down and walked off to prepare his own meal.

_The poor guy, _Scarmon thought. _Something's really eating him about this thing we're doing tonight. I wish I could help, but I don't know what to say. He needs someone of his own species to understand him. In the meantime, all I can do is show him that I'm not going to abandon him. That's all I can do._

* * *

"Mimi?" Michael called. "I think you should come out, now."

"I'm still mad at you," Mimi said defiantly. "I'm not coming out until you apologize."

"Uh, can we talk about that later?" Michael asked unsurely. "You see, there's someone here to see you."

Mimi stomped out of her room and walked out to greet whoever her guest was with the intention of sending them away. She wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone. Not Michael, nor anyone else for that matter. Then, she saw who was sitting in her living room.

"Willis!" she cried in surprise.

"Hi, Mimi," he said. "Izzy told me you were having a problem. And since I was coming to visit some relatives in New York anyway, I thought I'd try to help out."

* * *

"Okay, it's up," Willis said, sitting at his laptop. Nearby, Cocomon and Gummimon stood patiently. Mimi and Michael leaned in for a closer look.

"Based on what Izzy told me on the train, I've come up with a theory about Jin Takamura," Willis explained. The screen showed the symbols of the original Digidestined, among them Sincerity. "These are the eight Crests you and your friends possessed, Mimi. They also appear on the Digi-eggs that Davis and his group uncovered. These Crests represent virtues that work together to create harmony. You probably knew that one, right?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," Mimi acknowledged. "What does it have to do with Jin, though?"

"Well that's the problem," Willis admitted. "The Crest of Rage, based on what I've gathered Jin told you and from what Izzy and Tentomon collected, is a symbol of darkness. While your Crests were symbols of light and fed off of the noble things within you and the others, Jin's Crest is fueled by negative energy produced by the anger he builds up inside him."

"So your saying that he's evil by nature?" Michael asked.

"No, not exactly," Willis corrected. "I mean, based on what you've all told me, finding your Crests helped you to realize the special traits within you that helped your digimon digivolve. When that happened, those traits began to become more and more evident in your personalities. The same is probably true for Jin. Evil or not, having that Crest has likely let his rage grow. It's part of him now and it won't leave him until he stops being angry."

"So, if we can find out what he's so enraged about, we can stop his power?" Michael asked.

"Or maybe help him out?" Mimi added hopefully.

Willis sighed. "Yes, that would work," he said. "Unfortunately, I can't figure out what his real problem is and he might have made his move by the time we find out. No matter what, we can't do anyone any good until we find him."

The three were silent. Mimi tried to think of where Jin might go. He was good at hiding and he was good enough at survival to hide anywhere in the city and remain undetected. That left the place where he would strike. He was mounting some kind of attack, but the question was where.

Then, in answer, something struck her. She remembered something that went on between the two of them two days ago, when she'd showed him around the city.

_"Oh, that's the World Trade Center,"_ she'd said when he'd asked. And then he'd asked, _"So, is it kind of important to New York?"_

The thought stuck in her mind. His sudden interest in the place. His interest in its importance to the city. The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed that he would choose that as a target. He was trying to make a statement, something grandiose and prophetic.

"I know where he's going," Mimi said, breaking the silence. "He's going to the World Trade Center. From there, he could target just about any other building and he could wreck one of the towers to change the New York skyline."

Michael stood, his face stern. "New York might not be perfect," he said, "but it's my home. And yours. And our friends'. If he wants to destroy this city, he'll have to go through me."

"And me," Willis agreed, also standing.

Mimi sighed reluctantly. "And me."

* * *

The three of them had been standing across the street from the World Trade Center for hours after the sun had already set and it was getting fairly late. All three of them were getting anxious.

"Are you sure this is where he's going?" Michael asked.

Mimi nodded. "I'm sure. I've just got this feeling."

"He's sure taking his time," Willis remarked.

The three of them were waiting in an alley, eyeing the entrances of both towers with binoculars, but it was so dark that it made it difficult to see anything. Even so, they were prepared for the fight that would almost certainly come. Betamon and Palmon were rested and fed, and Gummymon and Cocomon had already digivolved to Terriermon and Lopmon respectively. Willis and Michael seemed confident, seeing that they outnumbered Jin, seven to two and Lilymon had beaten SkullVenomon with ease last night.

"So, what's this Scarmon like anyway?" Terriermon asked.

"I looked him up on my analyzer," Willis mentioned. "Scarmon are really nasty digimon, to be honest. Normally, they hunt at night and bring down larger prey in packs. They're tough, and Jin's Scarmon shouldn't be any different, so watch yourself, guys."

"You know, we might have to wait a while for him to show up," Michael mentioned. "He might even wait several more hours before attacking."

"Better yet," Mimi added hopefully, "he might not make a move at all."

Just then, there was an explosion from one of the tower entrances and an alarm sounded.

"Then again…" Willis sighed.

"Let's go!" Michael cried, gathering Betamon and rushing ahead as Mimi and Willis followed.

* * *

The night air was chilly and the wind was much stronger up here. Jin and Scarmon stood on the roof looking at the surrounding skyscrapers. Some were still occupied, with their lighted windows causing the buildings to sparkle like gems.

"High, isn't it?" Jin asked.

"Yeah," Scarmon agreed. "I'll never figure out why humans build anything this tall. I still can't figure out why these things don't fall over."

"Well, let's see how tough they really are," Jin proposed. "I'll bet you can't knock over the other one."

"You're on!" The two of them laughed for a moment. Then, simultaneously, they stopped and grew serious, their muscles tensing up. The two of them narrowed their eyes and their nostrils flared.

There was a scent in the air. A very familiar scent.

"Come on out, Mimi," Jin said, putting on his shades. "I know you're here."

Mimi and the others complied and came out from the shadows they'd crept to. They had followed Jin to the roof and tried to keep silent, but somehow he'd detected them.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked calmly.

"I smelled your perfume." He grinned. "You know, you three are terrible at this. I mean, if you were going to try to sneak up on me, the least you could do is wear black. You wouldn't stay hidden long in those street clothes."

"You must be Jin," Willis remarked.

"And _you_ must be an idiot," Jin retorted. "I gave plenty of warning to Mimi and the preppy over there that I'm not playing around. This isn't a game, it's a war. And now, little boy, you're in it."

Jin took a device from his trench coat. He pressed a button on it and a rumble shook through the floor.

"What was that?" Michael demanded.

"A few explosives I set," Jin replied. "I just blocked off the entry ways through the building. Since I set off the alarm, I figured the cops would show up sooner or later and I don't want them breaking up my party."

"Why are you doing this, Jin?" Mimi spoke up. "What's the point?"

Jin's face was grave. "When I was in the Digiworld, Scarmon and I dedicated ourselves to fighting evil. The idea was that, after I'd put my time in as a Digidestined, I could go home. But I haven't found any home yet. I'm cursed with being a Digidestined. And it was all a mistake! I wasn't supposed to be here!"

Jin clenched his fists in rage. "Well, since I've got all this power here on Earth, I figured that my job was to destroy the evil here. And that's when it hit me: New York City. I came here to see it for myself. Living on the streets gives you some perspective... the city you know is just an illusion for what's really going on. It's a modern day Babylon, Mimi! The crime, pollution, and the decadence of the most infamous city in the world... and it all ends now." He flashed a toothy smile. "And then, I'll have paid off my debt. I'll be free."

The three children were stunned and silent. Finally, Michael broke the peace: "He's nuts."

"I didn't expect you to understand," Jin sighed, almost in pity. "No one does."

"Jin, stop!" Mimi shouted.

"Sorry, Mimi-chan," he growled, "but it's too late to go back now."

Willis took hold of his digivice. "I hate to say it, but he's right!" He turned to Terriermon and Lopmon and the two rabbit-like digimon nodded.

Terriermon was first. _"Terriermon digivolve to… Gargomon!"_ In place of the small green and white bunny was now a much larger rabbit, with a pair of jeans and two giant gattling machine guns for arms.

_"Lopmon digivolve to… Wendimon!"_ The brown and red bunny who'd so resembled Terriermon was now a huge, hulking beast with shaggy fur. He glared at his enemies with big red eyes.

_"Betamon digivolve to… Seadramon!"_

Palmon followed suit and in moments Lilymon was ready as well.

Jin and Scarmon looked at each other and laughed.

"What's so funny?" Michael demanded. "We've got you outnumbered and overpowered, Jin. It's over!"

"Cut the heroics, blondie," Jin sneered. "I mean, look at what you've got: a bunny dressed like Rambo, a shag carpet, a big worm, and a fairy. You don't stand a chance."

"We already know SkullVenomon can't even beat Lilymon alone, so stop bluffing!" Willis shouted. "Even when he's fully evolved he's not strong enough."

Scarmon snickered. "What makes you so sure that SkullVenmon is my fully-evolved form?"

Mimi's eyes went wide. "Oh no…"

"That's right, Mimi," Jin chuckled. "My rage is my power. And my rage is limitless. Scarmon," he grinned, "show them what you can do."

Scarmon began to glow as did Jin's crest. The two glowed with a blinding red light as tremendous power coursed through the Rookie's body.

_"Scarmon warp-digivolve to…"_

There was a flash of light and the three children and four digimon saw their new opponent. He was seven feet tall and his humanoid-shaped body was all black, as if forged from shadows. He was lined with trim muscles and, in certain spots, his flesh gave way to reveal pulsating steel cables. His eyes were huge, yellow and without pupils and they glowed eerily in the darkness of his otherwise featureless face. He had bright crimson hair that hung from his head in long, shiny locks that quivered and squirmed like living appendages. His hands were covered with robotic-looking gauntlets. From his fingers long, curving razor blades, each one a foot long, revealed themselves with a metallic grating. He spread his retractable claws before them menacingly. The very air around him seem to shimmer and resonate with the power radiating from his body. Though obviously a lot smaller than Skullvenomon, he was a Mega nonetheless, and far far more menacing than the foe they were expecting.

_"…CARNAGEMON!"_ he howled, announcing himself in an unearthly, echoing voice.

Jin grinned maniacally as he stood next to his nightmarish partner. "Meet my trump card," he introduced. "He's got enough power to leave Manhattan as nothing more than a crater and he can kill you weaklings ten times over before you hit the ground. After he's finished you guys off, one of these towers is going down, and the area around the remaining tower is going up in flames. Consider yourselves a warm up exercise. Carnagemon, let them have it. And don't feel like you need to hold back this time."

With a guttural shriek, Carnagemon leapt into the air as the other four digimon rushed into the battle. That only left Jin and the three humans.

"Jin, please, stop!" Mimi begged.

"Shut up," he said, putting on his sunglasses, his expression going even more cold.

"I'll take you down even if I have to do it myself!" Michael bellowed rushing at him, Willis following suit.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Mimi knew she ought to do something to help. But, amid the insanity that was breaking loose all around her, all she could do was stand there.

_Mimi, do something!_ she told herself. _Join your friends! You have to help!_

But despite the orders she gave herself, her feet would not obey. All she could do was watch as the madness before her eyes played out.

* * *

_"Ice Blast!"_Seadromon attacked. The ice cold blast rained down on Carnagemon, who was encased in ice. However, only a second went by before the ice was shattered and he was free.

_"My turn!" _Carnagemon exclaimed, diving for Seadramon's tail. He took hold and lifted him easily with his immense strength. Seadramon struggled as best as he could, but Carnagemon thrashed him about like he was a limp noodle. Laughing insanely, he even lashed Wendimon with his helpless opponent.

"Wendimon! Are you okay?" Gargomon called to his brother. Wendimon grunted in response, nodding.

Seadramon was faring considerably worse, however. With a final slam, Carnagemon threw him to the ground, braking the concrete and causing him to de-digivolve.

_"That was fun and everything," _Carnagemon declared, _"but way too easy. Let's see if you three are more challenging!"_

* * *

Michael wound up his arm with the intent of planting a punch in Jin's face. Jin was more that ready for it and took hold of his arm and, using his own momentum, flipped Michael one-handed over his shoulder and onto his back.

"Pathetic," Jin muttered disgustedly, and flipped him a second time, thrashing him much as Carnagemon had thrashed Seadramon.

Willis ran at Jin from behind and leapt onto his back wrapping his arms around his neck in a stranglehold.

Jin tried shaking him off, but Willis had a surprisingly good hold on him. "Nice moves, kid," Jin grunted, "but not good enough." Nimbly, Jin dashed backwards at the nearby stairwell exit and rammed Willis into the concrete, causing him to lose his grip as the wind was knocked from him.

As Willis slipped off, Jin turned and punched him in the nose, causing his head to snap back and hit the concrete side of the stairwell. He then held him by the neck and prepared to strike again.

Before he could strike, however, foot was planted in his side, causing him to stagger and release Willis. He turned and saw that Michael had kicked him.

"I'll let you have that one, preppy," he growled, a mean grin on his face, "but from now on, I'm not going easy on you."

"Neither will we," Michael shot back.

Jin wasn't phased by Michael's confidence. "Give it your best shot, little boys," he challenged. "After all, it's no fun if I kill you both too easily!"

* * *

Carnagemon dashed at Wendimon, preparing to strike, when Lilymon's flower cannon attack blasted him. He may have been strong, but he was surprisingly light and the blast sent him flying over the building's edge. He caught the edge with his claws and saved himself from falling. Lilymon flew over to follow.

Looking down, she was surprised to see that he wasn't there. Instead, there was a hole in the window in the floor below them.

"Where'd he go?" Gargomon asked.

"Look out!" she cried. "He's below us!"

Her warning came a moment too late, however, and the savage form of Carnagemon exploded from the ground below Gargomon, sending him sprawling.

With his considerable agility, he was able to get reoriented quickly and aimed his arms at Carnagemon. _"Gargo Laser!"_ he attacked, spraying the hideous creature with blasts.

The bullets did little damage, but they did cause the Mega-level digimon to stagger back momentarily. Wendimon took his cue.

_"Club arm!"_ he bellowed gutturally, bashing Carnagemon with his tremendous forearm.

Carnagemon hit the ground but righted himself instantly and retaliated. He planted a kick in Wendimon's chest, driving him back. He was about to go in for the kill when Lilymon swooped down, dive-bombing him. The blow halted him for only a second and now, more than hurt, he looked angered.

_"You again?"_ he shouted in disbelief. _"I'll shred you like confetti! **Head Tendrils!"**_

The locks of hair on Carnagemon's head suddenly extended and wrapped themselves around Lilymon with astonishing speed. With a mere shake of his head, he brought the helpless fairy to the ground and then threw her savagely, causing her to skid on the graveled rooftop.

Lilymon managed to get back up and take off just as Carnagemon pursued. _**"Visceral Slash!"** _he screamed, swiping at her with his claws. They missed, instead slashing through the concrete rim nearby. Lilymon noticed that his claws cut through them with ease, like a hot knife through butter, and the concrete chunks fell away clean.

"Stay away from his claws!" she cried in warning to her friends. "If they're sharp enough to do that, they can do worse to us!"

* * *

If the digimon were handling Carnagemon badly, Michael and Willis were doing even more poorly against Jin.

"You know, I have enough arsenal with me to take out a few buildings on my own," he remarked, dodging Willis' punch and landing his own in his right cheek, "and I could use any of what I've got just in my coat right now to finish off either of you. Instead, I'm doing this barehanded, beating you two senseless. I think that's honorable of me, don't you think?"

"You want to know what I think?" Michael asked, wiping some blood from his mouth. "I think you're a savage and a lousy excuse for a Digidestined!"

Jin seized Michael by his long, blonde hair with lightning quickness. "Don't talk to _me_ like that, little boy," he said. "I've seen things you've only seen in your nightmares. You don't know what it's like to struggle just to survive because the Digital World asked you to be a hero and then _changed its mind._ You can't judge me, because you don't understand me. You're the one defending this evil city. For that alone, _you're_ the lousy excuse for a Digidestined."

That said, he lifted Michael off the ground by his hair, then brutally pushed his face into the ground, pressing as hard as he could. Michael gave a muffled groan.

While Jin was focused on Michael, however, Willis gathered himself up and uppercut Jin in the jaw. He took the punch easily, and Willis thought he hurt his hand worse than he'd hurt Jin's face, but his eyes went wide with horror when he saw his shades go flying from his face.

"NO!" he cried. "My glasses!" He chased after them refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Mimi watched dumbfounded as Jin panicked and dove after his shades frantically. Willis and Michael also noticed, and as Jin stooped to retrieve them, the two pounced oh him, tackling him to the ground.

He got up and shoved the two away effortlessly, using his massive strength, but instead of attacking them, he continued to try and get back his shades.

"Mine!" he cried petulantly, shaking off his attackers. "Get away from me!"

He finally broke free and picked the shades up. Before he put them on, however, he met Mimi's eyes. Their two gazes locked.

Mimi was started to see that his dark eyes were red, wide, and fearful. They were like the eyes of scared, lonely child. For a moment, he only stared back. Then, tears coming to his eyes, his face became a twisted mask of rage and he screamed, "Don't look at me!"

Michael lunged once again, but Jin caught him by the throat, his calm, calculating manner back once the shades were on.

"You're one of those pretty-boys, aren't you, preppy?" he asked. "Well, let's see how pretty you are when you're a red stain on the pavement!"

With that, he held Michael up over his head and approached the tower's ledge.

* * *

_"Club Arm!"_Wendimon attacked, backhanding Carnagemon across the face.

_"That's it. I've had enough of you, you shag carpet!" _Carnagemon growled. A red glow came to his claws as he brought them together, focusing the energy. _**"Havoc Beam!"** _he attacked, sending an immense, red beam into Wendimon, propelling him backwards, off one tower and into the other.

The top part of the tower exploded in a massive fireball as Carnagemon's most fearsome attack annihilated it. The sheer force broke most of the windows in the rest of the building and the sound shook most of Manhattan. Willis ran to see if his partner was okay.

"Wendimon?" he cried. "Are you okay?"

From the flaming, twisted rubble, a small brown blob waved at him with a little arm. Willis sighed with relief to see that Cocomon was okay, even if he was unable to fight any longer. He then turned his attention to Jin, who still held the struggling Michael over his head.

"You monster!" Willis hollered. He walked right up to Jin and punched him as hard as he could in the stomach.

Jin only grunted, more interested in finishing off Michael. He seemed unaffected and continued, now ignoring the boy. Willis wasn't one to give up and punched him twice more in his abdomen.

_He's so strong it feels like I'm hitting concrete, _Willis thought to himself, rubbing his sore fist. Jin took notice this time however, but merely kicked Willis in the chest with a heavy, booted foot. Willis flew back several feet and collapsed, battered and too hurt to move. It hurt to breathe and he realized that he no longer had the strength to fight.

Jin proceeded on to the ledge and raised Michael, preparing to throw him off.

"No! Please! Don't!" Michael pleaded.

"You had your chance," Jin said. He braced himself, ready to throw him.

_"You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"_ a voice cried. Jin's eyes went wide. He let Michael go, but without throwing him, he was able to catch himself on the ledge, barely hanging on for dear life.

He left Michael, who quickly climbed back up to safety, and turned to face the speaker. "That's..."

Mimi's hands were clapped over her mouth. Whatever state she'd been in had passed now, and she couldn't believe that she'd managed to say anything at all. However, seeing Jin do these horrible things and nearly commit murder had finally pushed her to say the only thing she could. As soon as she'd said it, it sounded stupid and weak and flimsy, but it now seemed to have had a profound effect on Jin. At first, she thought Jin's attention would turn to her. However, he instead looked around, as if there was someone else there.

"M-Mom?" he asked uncertainly. "Mom, is that you?"

Michael ran at him from behind, but Jin simply brought his fist back, striking him in the face and knocking him down for the count. The movement was almost casual and he went back to calling.

"Mom! What is it? Are you watching me?"

Meanwhile, Carnagemon was focusing his attention on Gargomon and Lilymon.

_"Gargo Laser!"_ Gargomon attacked, but Carnagemon was far too fast and easily leapt out of harm's way.

_**"Head Tendrils!"** _he countered, and ensnared Gargomon.

_"Flower Cannon!"_ Lilymon's attack blasted at the tendrils, forcing Carnagemon to release him. The tendrils returned to their normal positions and he turned to the Ultimate who proved his most formidable foe.

"You can't stop me if you can't catch me!" Lilymon taunted.

_"I couldn't agree more," _Carnagemon acknowledged. That said, he leapt into the air, harnessing speed and agility Lilymon wouldn't have thought possible, and caught her unexpectedly by the arm. He narrowed his eyes, giving an expression that was so cruel and cold, she could almost feel it in her soul. _"Sayonara, salad! **Visceral Slash!"**_

Mimi heard a blood curdling cry and watched in horror as Tanemon hit the ground, Carnagemon's latest victim.

While the Mega went to finish off Gargomon, Mimi went over to her partner. "Tanemon! Say something!" she begged. "Are you all right?"

Jin, meanwhile, had grown quiet. "Mom…?" he whispered. "Are you there, Mom?"

He stifled a sob and hung his head. "You aren't, are you? You're gone. Because there is shame on me. I've got to finish this off. There's only one thing that's really in my way…"

He drew his gun from his coat and walked over to Mimi.

"You!" he shouted at her, pointing the gun at her. "You're the one who was sent to try and stop me from getting what I want!"

Mimi looked up from her partner at her onetime friend. Jin expected to see fear. He expected to see surprise, or anger, or any other thing besides the one thing he _did _see: Pity. Mimi looked at him the way people looked at dogs in cages at the pound. The way people looked at hoboes on the street who were missing limbs. The way that no one else looked at him.

"What? What is it?" he asked confused.

"What do you really want?" Mimi asked softly. "I don't believe it's this, no matter what you say."

"Huh?" he asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

* * *

From high above them, someone else was watching the whole scene. Amid the chaos below, they had not noticed that an army helicopter was now circling the tower. Police had surrounded the building, but Jin's provisions had blocked them and, since a huge chunk of one of the towers had just been destroyed, the army had been called in.

They had a rocket launcher onboard the helicopter and were preparing to fire it, but first they had to choose the target.

"The target will be the one in black with the red hair," the commanding officer ordered, indicating Carnagemon. The pilot took aim accordingly when the commander called, "Halt!"

"What is it, sir?" the pilot asked.

"It looks like one of those terrorists is holding a gun to a hostage's head!" the commander exclaimed. "We can't take the risk that he'll execute the hostage if we attack. We'll have to wait until she's safe."

"Are you sure that's wise, commander?"

"We were ordered to minimize casualties if possible and... jeez, those are just kids. Be ready to fire on my command if the situation turns any uglier."

"Yes, sir!" the pilot complied.

* * *

"I mean," Mimi continued, "what do you want? What do you think you'll get when you do this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jin asked, laughing nervously.

Mimi shook her head. "No."

Jin seemed perturbed. "Well, I'm not going to bother explaining it to you," he said. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

He growled, pushing the gun closer to her face. "No."

"Why?" she asked, not flinching. "You've already beaten Michael and Willis, and Carnagemon has defeated everyone but Gargomon, and he can't last much longer. You've got time. It's not like it'll change anything, unless you want it to, so what're you afraid of?"

Jin gritted his teeth, but finally relented. "I'm doing this," he said, "because… because…" This wasn't right. He had a reason. He was supposed to have a reason. It had always seemed so clear, but now that she was forcing him to speak it, he couldn't put it into words.

"I think I know," she said, petting Tanemon gently. "You want to go home."

Jin cocked his head to one side. "H-home?"

"I knew it when I saw your eyes a little while ago," she went on. "You looked lost and afraid. It was the same look we all had when we thought we were stuck in the Digital World. I was so worried that I'd never get back, sometimes I thought I was going to go crazy!"

Jin's hand shook as he kept the gun trained on Mimi. "I felt that way too," he whispered. "Back on Spiral Mountain, staring up at the Earth in the sky, knowing it was out of reach... and... so, so many other times-"

"So you see, I do understand," she explained, giving him a weak smile. "I think I know what you're angry about, Jin. You returned only to find that the only home you had wasn't there anymore. So now, you feel like you did something wrong and setting it right can get you your home back."

Jin winced, taking a few steps back. "But… I…"

Mimi stood, not showing any fear for her life. "Jin, what would you have told your mother, if you'd had the chance?"

Jin was shaking now, even sniffling, his eyes watering behind his shades, no longer masking the emotion Mimi knew was there. "I would have said… that I understand, now," he replied, his voice cracking. "I would have told her… that I knew why she tried to stop me from doing the stuff I did… why she sent me to summer camp in the first place… I know now that she did it because… because she loved me. They said she spent two years waiting for me... she couldn't sleep, so... she got really sick and... some kind of pneumonia... and then, because I never came back it... it got even worse. She didn't try to fight it! She just gave up and... and it's my fault!"

Now he was crying openly. "And now I'm alone!" he wailed. "And I have nothing left to lose!"

He still held the gun on Mimi, refusing to surrender, but Mimi seemed not to even notice. "That's not true," she said. "Carnagemon is over there, fighting for you because he just wants to help you. And I'm here because I wanted to help you. I'm your friend, Jin. You saved my life, and I want to pay you back." She smiled. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'Home is where the heart is?'" she asked. Jin nodded weakly. "Well, there are two people here who care about you now, Jin. You don't have to fight anymore. This is where your heart is. You're home."

Jin took off his shades and looked at her. "I'm… home?"

Mimi nodded. Jin's arm fell to his side and he was no longer holding her at bay. She momentarily set Tanemon down and went over to the older boy, who was now crying unabashedly. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tenderly, and he returned the embrace, rocking back and forth as he sobbed. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice shaking. "I'm so, so sorry..."

And for a moment, it was just the two of them. Mimi had finally broken past the fiery rage and hatred in Jin's soul and found the aching loneliness that had been buried beneath it. And he was so relieved.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" he repeated, over and over again. "I never meant to hurt good people. Not a good person like you."

"I know that," she soothed. "But there are a lot of good people in New York, too, Jin. What you saw on the streets was real, but that doesn't make what I showed you an illusion. Don't wipe out the good along with the bad. Some people are like those bullies you fought in the park, but there are a lot of them who are kind, gentle people. Michael's one of them. Willis, too. And we have friends out there who we just want to protect."

Jin's eyes lit up with realization and he pulled back from Mimi's embrace. He looked down at his gun. "I never realized it," he breathed. Then, with disgust, he took the gun and flung it off the building. He heard a grunt and saw Carnagemon about to take a slash at Gargomon.

_No more pain, _he swore to himself, and rushed towards his partner. "Carnagemon, stop!"

Nearby, the army helicopter viewed all this. "He's ditched the gun and freed the hostage! Fire!" the commander ordered.

A strong wind suddenly flew up at that altitude, and just as the pilot fired, the helicopter launched its rocket in the wrong direction, away from Carnagemon.

The rocket struck the roof several feet from where Jin was running but the explosion was so forceful that it launched Jin into the air and he flew outwards. Out over the ledge.

"Jin!" Mimi cried.

Carnagemon turned his attention from Gargomon to see his friend hurtle off the tower.

_"Jin! NO!"_ Carnagemon screamed, and dashed after him. Using his tremendous strength, he leapt to the ledge and propelled himself downwards, catching up with his already plummeting partner.

When he caught hold of the boy, he found him barely conscious, disoriented from the blast. He took hold of him and then looked for ways to save him as they both hurtled toward the ground far below.

He could not fly and he couldn't redirect their fall so as to land somewhere safe. There was, in fact, only one option.

He held Jin tightly, hugging him to his powerful body, aiming his back at the ground. Jin stirred as the wind howled past them.

"What are… you doing?" he asked.

_"I swore I'd do anything for you," _Carnagemon whispered. _"I only hope that this way, you can find what you're looking for."_

Up above them, Mimi watched as they fell further and further, plunging down into the mess of police lights and chaos below. She was there in the moment that the two of them hit the ground, and a cloud of dust and rubble exploded from the point of impact.

* * *

At the foot of the tower, Mimi made her way through the crowd. "Please, let me through, I know him!" she shouted. Finally, a policeman stopped her.

"Listen, miss, you can't go any farther," he told her.

"But I was up there!" she protested. "With my digimon! He's a friend of mine!"

The policeman paused for a moment, then escorted her through. When she got there, she found that her view of Jin was blocked by a huge team of paramedics. They were all gathered around Jin, and she couldn't see what was happening. She could only listen in.

"That kid took a huge fall!" said one.

"He's in bad shape, we need to hurry!" said another.

A third stood up and shook his head. "Poor kid," he muttered, "he's gone."

Mimi's eyes were wide in disbelief. It couldn't be. After all that, he was gone? After all he'd been through, Jin was dead?

Mimi turned away, and the crowd of people watched her as she buried her face in her hands, her grief bringing her to her knees. Then she heard a loud cough.

"What the…! He's breathing! This kid's alive!"

Mimi stood up and the paramedics got back to work with renewed vigor, knowing that the young man had somehow survived.

* * *

**Two months later:**

Mimi entered the hallway of the New York City Juvenile Detention Center. The guard there tipped his hat to her.

"Don't see many young ladies like yourself, miss," he remarked. "What are you doing in a place like this?"

"Visiting a friend," she replied. "I haven't seen him in a while and he's just now been given permission to see visitors."

"Well, you have a nice visit, okay?" he smiled. "You've got five minutes."

Mimi went to the booth where her friend was seated. He was behind a window with a little vent through which they could speak. He was seated and smiling good-humoredly. He was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit and his black hair was neatly combed.

"Hi, Jin," she said.

"Hi, Mimi," he replied. "It's great to see you again."

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked.

"Not since the trial," she nodded. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." He seemed sincere. "I mean, I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of spending my time in here until I'm an adult, but I suppose after blowing up part of the World Trade Center, that's the least I can expect, even with a plea bargain."

"I wish I could have done more," she offered.

He laughed softly.

"What is it?"

"It's you," he answered, smiling. "You wish you could have done more, but you've done more for me than any other human being has done. You told them that Carnagemon was using me, that I had no choice but to do what he told me. That lie probably kept me from a much worse sentence. And, more importantly, you helped me to find a little peace of mind."

Mimi smiled. "So you're not bitter about this?"

"What have I got to be bitter about?"

Mimi gestured at his addition.

"Oh, that," he laughed. "Well, I get bummed out about it sometimes, but I also consider it a blessing. I mean, if Carnagemon hadn't shielded me during the fall, I might not have survived at all."

His voice went quiet. "You haven't seen Scarmon around, have you?" he asked.

Mimi shook her head. "You know, if he didn't make it, I'm sure he'll be reborn in Primary Village, like any other good digimon," she offered.

"Oh, he's pretty tough," Jin remarked slyly. "I'll bet he's around, somewhere."

"Well… uh… how's the prison food?"

Jin smirked. "Terrible."

"Like your cellmate?" she asked.

"Yeah, he's okay. Most of these guys are all right."

"Oh, that's nice," she said. "They're treating you okay, then?"

"Well, they teased me about my, uh, _situation_ a little bit, but picking on someone like me just makes them look like they couldn't handle anyone else. Even around here, they've got standards."

"I see."

"Also, I beat one of them up and now they all respect me." Mimi laughed and shook her head. "I'm trying to learn how to be nice, but I'm still no angel," he laughed.

"Well, I hope you stay as sweet as you are now," Mimi told him. "I have to go in a few seconds. Is there anything you wanted to tell me?"

Jin thought for a moment. "Yeah," he said finally. "Thank you."

With that, the guard came over to the back of his chair and pulled him back. Then as he looked back at Mimi and waved goodbye, the guard wheeled him out.

Mimi left the Detention Center with a smile on her face that day. Jin might have lost the use of his legs, but at least he'd got back his heart.

* * *

Jin Takamura, age sixteen, convicted juvenile delinquent, and suspected terrorist, stared out at the lawn outside the Detention Center's fence. While the others played basketball and enjoyed their exercise time, he was content to sit in silence.

"Making out okay?" a voice called from a bush outside the fence.

"Yeah," Jin replied. "Mimi came to see me today."

"Bet that was nice," the voice remarked. "Did she promise to wait for you on the outside?"

"Shut up," Jin laughed.

The voice was quiet for a moment. "Are you sure you don't want me to break you out of here?"

"They confiscated my digivice, it'd be too difficult for you."

"Still," Scarmon pressed, poking his little black head out of the bush, "are you sure you want to stay in there?"

"It's not the nicest place in the world, I know, but I need some time to relax. I can catch up on my schoolwork while I'm in here. Maybe get a diploma."

"What's a diploma?" the digimon asked.

"Something that'll help me get a job, so I can buy you steak when I get out of here," Jin replied.

Scarmon licked his chops. "Well, if you say so. In the meantime, I'm going to stick around New York, live off the streets, eat pigeons and squirrels and stuff. At least until you get out."

"So you're saying you'll wait for me on the outside?" Jin joked, turning Scarmon's words back on him.

Scarmon chuckled. "Yeah, I guess that is what I'm saying."

"Visit me, okay?"

"I've stuck by you in worse situations than this," Scarmon said. "I'm not abandoning you now, either."

Jin smiled. "I appreciate that. Take care, little guy."

"You too, buddy."

With that, his comrade snuck off, leaving Jin to sit in his wheelchair and serenely take in the golden view of the sun as it set in an autumn afternoon.

Sitting there, stuck behind that fence, he thought to himself that in all his life he'd never felt so free as he did at that moment.

**The End**

_(Or is it? To read about Jin's further adventures, check out my story "Ancient Enemy: A Digimon Fan-Novel," here on FFN! Stick around for the commentary, and **please, if you've read this far, leave a review,** I really appreciate the feedback!)  
_


	6. Author's Notes and Commentary

"**Unintended"**

**Author's Notes and Commentary**

Hello, and welcome to these Author's Notes. After a very long gap of writing fanfiction, I've recently returned to update my old stories and continue an unfinished one. I hope you have enjoyed this story and these notes will give you some insight into its writing process and history.

"Unintended" was one of my most involved short stories, and it required a lot more work and skill than previous works, so it holds a special place in my heart. It's the first one I wrote that relied heavily on an original character, and that alone meant it had two potential failings. First of all, it meant people might not read it, because people who read fanfiction typically do so to enjoy more of their favorite characters, not read about somebody they've never met. The second potential failing was that any OC runs the risk of becoming a Mary Stu/Marty Stu. That is, a character that is essentially the author.

I suppose for such a short story with an OC focus, "Unintended" was received and reviewed fairly well when I first published it in 2001, so I'm satisfied that it avoided the first failing. As for the second, I think Jin Takamura holds up as his own character, and he's a far cry from the type of person I am. The reviews have been generally receptive of the guy, so, again, I'm satisfied.

In these notes, I'd like to address a few different things, and perhaps the touchiest subject ought to get some attention first.

* * *

**September 11, and Why This Story Isn't About It**

When working on ideas for the plot in early 2001, I wanted to have a climactic battle high atop a tall building in New York. I also wanted there to be a genuinely horrifying threat looming to show just how far off the deep end Jin had gone. I was watching TV while coming up with ideas one night and they had a special about the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center… the one that happened in the _nineties._

The show explained that the terrorist bombing at that time was intended to cause the building to collapse and fall into the other tower. The idea of such monolithic buildings toppling over and changing the New York City skyline was genuinely disturbing and sounded like one of the most grandiose gestures a madman could make. I settled on the twin towers as Jin's target, having no idea that 7 months after the story was published we would all see it for real.

On that terrible morning, I was as devastated as anyone else, and I had the odd feeling of somewhat predicting it. Lines like Mimi referring to the NYC skyline, Jin referring to knocking one of the towers down, and another line (which I have deleted because it was just _too_ creepy) about terrorists always targeting the WTC (which was originally a reference to earlier attacks, not to 9/11) all sounded oddly prophetic. I felt disgusted and considered deleting the whole story.

So, why didn't I? Well, the aftermath of 9/11 was a time of reactionary politics and public censorship of anything involving New York and buildings and other things to the point where I just got sick of the whole mess. As horrible as the attack was, I didn't see why a story I wrote earlier and had invested so much time and energy into should get trashed because of a _coincidence_. I wasn't willing to bury things just because they made people a little uncomfortable in retrospect.

With very little alteration, the original dialogue and the entire WTC plot remains, even in this revised edition. Thus far, nobody has written an angry review, though I would understand if someone was upset enough to write one. There are numerous other works that have creepy coincidences similar to this story, and it does bother me that they've been swept under the rug. I would prefer to let the story remain unchanged over censoring myself, and I hope everyone understands that. If you are upset, however, feel free to leave a review explaining your feelings. I do read all my reviews.

Moving on, I'd like to talk about the story and writing process.

* * *

**Inspiration**

"Unintended" draws from several different sources. The first of those sources is actually other works of fanfiction here on . Fanfic author 7 of 11 wrote a story called "The Tsunonrimon Saga" (which is available in one package under his new account "Funkadelict") which actually got riffed (with his permission) in classic "Mystery Science Theater" style by my friend and fanfic author Aardwulf in a story called "A Most Unusual Form of Revenge." That story was about a new Digidestined named Jake Sunate, holder of the Crest of Nobility. (The original story's a good read. The MSTing is also hilarious. Really. One of the funniest fanfics I've ever read.)

According to that story, Jake was called on to be a Digidestined, but hadn't really done much fighting. However, he had been stranded in the Digital World for four years, with only a Rookie level partner to protect him. This was an interesting idea to me, but it never quite got realized as Jake shows no real survival skills, his digimon has never digivolved, and at one point he clumsily stumbles through a hole in a wall and nearly falls to his doom, "despite," as Aardwulf pointed out, "his senses honed from years living in the wild."

It made sense to me… a Digidestined living in the wild, no matter how high their digimon could evolve, would need to develop excellent survival skills, especially with villains like the Dark Masters wandering around. He'd be strong, fast, self-reliant, a complete badass and, probably, a bit mentally unstable. After all, people who suffer through such traumas often come out with very different points of view and don't always reintegrate with society very well. Look at shell-shocked war veterans, for example, who simply can't let their old battles go. They carry scars, both mentally and physically. (This is, incidentally, why Jin's digimon is named **SCAR**mon: he reflects Jin's nature as someone who has been wounded deeply, and the effects of those wounds are still present.)

It sounded like an interesting idea, so then I had to think about what sort of person this battle-scarred survivalist would be.

At the time, the second season was airing. The first villain of the series, as I'm sure you all know, was Ken, another Digidestined… but as the Digimon Emperor, he didn't really use his abilities as a Digidestined to plague the protagonists. The idea of another Digidestined who opposed the heroes was what I had expected when the series was announced, but it was an idea that never got realized at that time. I decided that my character ought to really be a Digidestined, to have a digimon partner who could fight for him, and to be potentially hostile to the others.

If he was to be a Digidestined, he needed a trait that would define him, just as the original characters were defined. I was trying to think of something that was negative, and at first I thought about having a trait that was the opposite of the other crests. The problem was, a lot of the virtues have passive or stupid-sounding opposites: Courage = Cowardice? Bleh. Friendship = Animosity? Too general. Reliability = Unreliability? That makes him seem like a screw-up.

The only ones that sounded good were opposing Sora's crest (Love = Hatred? That's not bad!) or Kari's (Light = Darkness). The problem I found when I looked around at other OCs was that both of those had been done, for one thing, and then I hit another problem I wasn't expecting: those kinds of characters weren't likeable. I wanted something that was relatable, very human, and something that wouldn't necessarily make my character into a complete monster.

Oddly enough, I got a good dose of inspiration from another source at my local arcade from one of my favorite games of all time: Marvel vs Capcom. One of the characters is named Jin Saotome, a character from Capcom's "Cyberbots," who has a win quote that reads: "Machines can transform rage into power!"

"Rage?" I thought. Well, that's negative, but its aggressive, and the perfect trait for a hostile character. And if we're talking about a troubled kid trapped in the Digital World, he would no doubt be very _very_ angry. While I was at it, since "Jin" was a fairly normal Japanese name, I picked it for my character. I'd like to say that the fact that it means "Benevolence" in Japanese is intended to be ironic and clever… but I didn't figure that out until after I named the lad. So, yeah, sorry, but he's named after a video game character. ("Takamura," meaning "High Village," was a name I heard among other Japanese surnames and just picked because I liked the ring of it. Sorry, but again, the name really doesn't mean anything for the character. He's just a normally named Japanese boy.)

Comic books provided some more inspiration. Reflecting his dual nature and the fact that Jin was to be a darker reflection of the "good" Digidestined, Scarmon's evolved forms are based on the Marvel comics character Venom, and by that token, Carnage. Hence, Venomon, SkullVenomon, and Carnagemon make up his Champion, Ultimate, and Mega forms respectively. Venom is (or at least _was_) a character with all of Spider-man's powers and greater strength (but less brains) but who is violent and obsessed with revenge. Definitely one of my favorite comic characters.

Also from comic books came some of the ideas about what sort of personality Jin should have. Coming off the 90s, antiheroic characters with non-traditional motives and methods were still popular, but we were also starting to see some backlash. A lot of characters were total badasses, but not really sympathetic and ultimately not worth sticking with. Again, the character I was going for had to be conflicted, violent, and aggressive, but not _inhuman._ Then I read back over the Batman storyline "Knightfall" from the 90s and hit on some commentary from comic writer Dennis O'Neil who wrote about the character Azrael, who would temporarily replace Bruce Wayne as Batman for about a year. The idea in that long storyline was that Azrael was an angelic-styled character who was co-opted for evil, while Batman was grim and devilish in appearance, but co-opted for good. There was some confusion in the comics industry about what really made a hero, so they had Azrael act as Batman for a time, but his new levels of depravity and sadism made him hated among the fanbase. Ultimately, they re-affirmed that a true hero is, well, heroic, and you can't just fight evil with evil, no matter how much you think you have it on a leash.

That gave me the idea: what if Jin was planned to be one of the original Digidestined as their muscle, as someone who could fight the Dark Masters and other villains with equal ferocity and brutality, untempered by notions like mercy or forgiveness? Surely someone would think it was a good idea, but most likely the idea would be shelved, leaving Jin out in the cold. If he came to the Digital World at all, it would be _unintentional_. The plot was starting to take form.

A last inspiration came from a film (based on a play) I saw called "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead." The story is about two characters from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" re-telling the story from their point of view. From time to time, they interact with the characters as part of the original story. I hit on the idea of having Jin be around during the events of the show while they were going on, but hidden in the background, his tale a secret that was _not intended_ to be told.

The elements were all in place. Now I had to figure out my character's motivations and how to best tell his story.

* * *

**Who is Jin Takamura?**

As I've said, the idea was to make Jin Takamura hostile, but also human and relatable. The story about his journey and how he would ultimately come into conflict with the others had to start off by establishing him as mean-spirited and mischievous, but also capable of some feeling and with a backstory that would earn him some pity. I wanted him to have a realistic backstory, much like the characters in the show. Similar to the original characters, a lot of his problems and character traits are the results of his relationship with his family. Unlike some of the squeaky clean Digidestined, he has much more deep-rooted problems and we first see him as a streetwise societal dropout, a position that contrasts him significantly from the others. In this revised version, I've made a few things clear, though even in the original, several facts about his life were present and hinted at indirectly.

Jin's father was some kind of thug, and he irresponsibly abandons his wife and child when Jin is very young. It's implied, but I'll state this simply if it got by you: Jin was an accident, and his father didn't want to take care of him. This has several consequences that shape the way Jin grows up. For starters, it means he has to deal with not having a father in a country that still doesn't look very kindly on divorce and single parent households are nowhere near as common as they are in the U.S. This makes him feel somewhat ashamed, especially since other children bully him. Without a central male figure in his life and a mother who just can't be there all the time, he develops a complex and reacts with violence. He falls in with the wrong crowd, becoming a juvenile delinquent. This causes his overworked and underpaid mother to fret that he is turning into his father, whom she still harbors bad feelings for. As a consequence, she browbeats Jin and compares him to the man who abandoned him, which serves only to make him resentful and _less_ likely to reform.

As much as Jin eventually comes to miss his mother, the woman was not perfect and made some mistakes in trying to help him become a better person. Perhaps the worst thing she did, however, was pass on her resentment towards Jin's father to her son. Telling your child that their father was scum and then comparing them to that father is a surefire way to traumatize them. It isn't that she didn't care or that Jin was beyond help; it is only that his problems were perhaps too difficult to handle on her own, that she had problems of her own with nobody to turn to, and the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Jin starts off his career as a Digidestined like the others, without any clear focus or idea of what he's supposed to be doing. Then he gets tipped off that there are other humans around and goes after them only to be informed by Mr. X that he is not like them. The revelation that he is not really supposed to be there, that he isn't a real hero, that he is a "mistake" reflects back on his daddy issues. From his perspective, he is suffering needlessly in a world that regards him as a waste of time.

However, one of the central themes of this story is that we need the care of others to be better people, and Jin gets a companion who truly cares for him and likes him with no strings attached. Reviewers have commented on this part of the story, and I think it is what helps make Jin easier to sympathize with. His troubled past makes him pitiable, but the close and loving relationship he enjoys with Scarmon is what makes him likeable. They're both pretty low on empathy for others, they both love a good fight, and they both share mean-spirited glee when they defeat their foes, but they mean the world to each other. In the first two chapters, Jin displays concern and guilt about Scarmon when he is in danger, while Scarmon displays single-minded loyalty to Jin, a kind of absolute trust that has positive and negative results (which I'll get to).

The first two chapters are all about establishing Jin as a punk who approaches the Digital World with a harder edge than the original Digidestined, but nothing more serious than that. However, he slowly becomes more desperate and panicked about losing track of the Digidestined and never getting home. When his worst fears come true and he's marooned in the Digital World, his anger peaks and he simultaneously loses hope of returning home and gains unbelievable power as Scarmon attains his Mega form. Bringing that resentment to the forefront, he takes it out on any evildoer he can find and, due to the nature of his crest's power, is encouraged to act out of anger constantly. Like the original Digidestined, he wants to fight evil, but he takes on a twisted version of that quest that is far more violent and self-absorbed than the others in his quest.

There is a long period of time, five years in fact, that is left out. When we finally see Jin again, he is frayed and hunted by the Digimon Emperor, but without his digimon able to digivolve, we have no idea what he's become capable of. The remaining part of the story is all about how he confronts human society and ultimately makes a choice for himself about what sort of person he really wants to be.

* * *

**The Story: Structure and Themes**

One of the important things you learn about fiction and writing is that it's not only what you write that counts: it's also what you leave unsaid. This story contains several time skips and they serve a dual purpose: 1) they allow the story to skip over some boring or longwinded parts; 2) they keep the reader in the dark until the end of the story, making them wonder what's going on.

Paralleling the original story, Jin's time on File Island is all about learning what a Digidestined is and getting used to the oddities of the Digital World... but that's not very interesting if you've already seen the show, so it gets glossed over to where Jin gets his crest and learns to use it. Also paralleling the show, a few months are glossed over between when Tai vanishes and then returns to reunite the Digidestined in time to pursue Myotismon to Earth. Two months of wandering around trying to find the original Digidestined isn't that interesting, so again, glossing.

The next major time skip occurs between Jin's marooning and his eventual escape from the Digital World after finding Kari and Gatomon in Full Metal City (a location that seems to keep popping up in my stories). This was skipped over to hide Scarmon's Mega form, for one, and also because it conceals that Jin has been doing some pretty awful things and has had some awful things done to him, for another. He is going all over the Digital World, assassinating evil digimon and accepting bounties and rewards in some cases, basically looking for trouble to satisfy his "quest" and, to be blunt, his bloodlust. This is the sort of thing that is better mentioned after the fact rather than directly, or else he looks like a lunatic and people stop caring about him. I wanted readers to feel conflicted about whether Jin was an anti-hero or villain right up to the end without making a total judgment about him.

Since this is a good opportunity to explain some background events as bonuses, here is a good rundown of what was going on during Jin's five years in the Digital World:

For the first year, Jin is simply going after petty crooks. He is also learning more about the Digital World, picking up skills like the ability to read Digicode (the runic language of the Digital World) and advanced tracking, hunting, and trapping techniques. With a Mega level digimon, he doesn't need to worry much about self-defense until, in his second year of exile, the Dark Masters make their move and begin warping the Digital World. He survives this catastrophe and at first assumes that he is supposed to defeat them, but quickly finds himself outmatched. He turns to hiding from them, acting mostly by himself but sometimes with a few elements of the resistance movement. Still, he is unable to make a dent in their forces and only takes out some of their lower minions. He really develops his covert tactics and survival skills at this time, as well as suffering several injuries. When the Earth appears in the sky, he gains hope that he may yet get home, but after all is said and done, he is unable to find the Digidestined and misses his chance. When the Earth vanishes from the sky, he is crushed, again, and renews his fight against any "evil" digimon, no matter how petty their crimes.

The next two years are spent in a mixture of training, hunting, and surviving, but it only during the last year of exile that the Digimon Emperor arrives. He has no idea who this new human is, but it becomes clear that he isn't interested in helping Jin get home and is more interested in conquering the Digital World. Deprived of his partner's ability to digivolve, he becomes desperate, but also further hones his skills as a survivalist. He learns how to make homemade weapons and explosives and becomes more physically active in battles alongside Scarmon. This makes him much stronger, but he also receives some terrible injuries and he has some near-death experiences (one of which is referenced in "Ancient Enemy," which I will get to later). When Mimi sees Jin working out, the scars on his body are the evidence that shows how badly he was hurt and how close he really came to dying.

Finally, he escapes from the Digital World and one more time skip occurs between his time in Japan and his time in New York, when he meets Mimi. During this time, he looks for his house, only to find that someone else has moved in. Nobody recognizes him at first, but he asks about his mother, Fuyuko Takamura, only to be told that she has died. Not only that, he is informed that she died of an illness and seemingly lacked the will to fight it in her depression over her son's disappearance. Thus, he finds that he has returned to Earth with nothing and nobody waiting for him, and his absence may well have led to his mother's demise. Even though he never had a great relationship with his mother, he feels extreme guilt in addition to grief. This further twists his mind as he searches for some kind of meaning in the events of the last five years. He comes to the conclusion that he must make some sort of amends for his mother's death, that his time in the Digital World was meant to be a period of training, and the only way to truly be free of his role as a Digidestined and to atone for his mother is to do something grandiose and symbolic that would make her proud. He must eliminate "evil" on Earth.

To do this, he finds former colleagues, other juvenile delinquents now in gangs or training to join the yakuza (the Japanese mafia), and persuades them to give him some jobs to earn money for his master plan. He uses Scarmon in secret to pull of major jobs and earn respect and favors from increasingly higher level criminals. He settles on New York as a symbol of foreign, Western decay (and also because he believes that there are no Digidestined there to stop him, unlike Tokyo), and works on a series of heists and attacks to earn his way to New York. He learns how to use various human weapons like firearms, grenades, rocket launchers, etc., and also demonstrates his hidden talent for learning languages by studying English intensely, filling in the gaps on the mean streets of New York. Viewing it from the perspective of a haggard vagrant, living in the shadows, he becomes more convinced about New York being a wicked place. Still, he takes the time to act as a vigilante and stop petty criminals throughout the underworld, and that is where he finally meets Mimi.

* * *

**Why Mimi?**

Since Tokyo was out of the question (a decision Jin makes to avoid the other Digidestined, and one I made since it would probably mean getting his butt kicked before he had a chance to do much of anything), that left New York. That's the only other city where he could finally meet another one of the original Digidestined. And that person was Mimi Tachikawa.

Ultimately, it worked perfectly for the story. Mimi and Jin get along pretty much immediately and they also make perfect foils for each other. When he first saves Mimi from the thugs in Central Park, he earns her gratitude and she offers him something he really hasn't had in a very very long time: a human companion.

The problem with Scarmon isn't that he's a bad friend. Far from it: he's loyal to the point of absolute devotion. Scarmon's not evil, he's just simpleminded. As far as he's concerned, the sun rises and sets on Jin Takamura and he will follow his partner unquestioningly. Unlike the other partner digimon, he lacks a moral compass or a strong will. In developing ideas about Scarmon as a species, I thought of them as vicious nocturnal pack animals, especially hyenas or wolves (though I actually think of hyenas due to their toothy grins and the perception of them as "laughing" while still being vicious). Like all pack animals, they have a leader and follow that leader in all things without much questioning. Scarmon follows Jin not only as a friend, but because he instinctively sees himself as being in a pack of two with Jin as the leader. So, when Jin says "We're going to rain destruction on New York and probably kill a lot of people," Scarmon doesn't think much beyond "If you say so." Without meaning to, Scarmon has let Jin become even more depraved and psychopathic because he will not hold him in check.

Mimi, on the other hand, shows Jin kindness, but also provides a voice of dissent, and a new point of view. Again, the two are great foils for each other. Jin prefers action over talk; Mimi fights as a last resort. Jin is a loner; Mimi is very social. Jin is serious and grim; Mimi is fun-loving and bubbly. The list goes on, but it also means that the two of them fall into the old truism of "opposites attract." While nothing comes of it, I did mean for there to be some attraction between the two. Jin has never had any sort of romantic contact with girls, since he was only 11 when he went to the Digital World and was just getting over the "girls are icky" stage when he became marooned. Going through puberty in the Digital World has left him with a lot of unexplained feelings and urges. He doesn't quite know how to interpret his feelings about Mimi, but he does know that she's pretty and she's kind to him and that's good enough for him.

And of course, Jin is rugged and actually pretty good-looking. He really fits the classic "tall, dark stranger" description. He's strong, he's pained and misunderstood, and he needs someone to show him some kindness and compassion. I won't say that every girl finds that attractive, but it goes without saying that many girls do. Mimi certainly feels something for Jin and she probably understands it far better than he does.

But, in the end, it's not a story about romance. Rather, it's about love and compassion. Mimi empathizes with Jin, tries to understand his feelings, and uncovers details about his past and about his plans. Rather than approaching the problem with force, she tries to extend a helping hand to help him see the error of his ways. What Jin ultimately needs is not redemption or forgiveness; all he really needs is for someone to care about him and to show him that he doesn't have to be all on his own. When she is able to reach past his rage and discover his guilt and sorrow, he finally realizes that he needs to stop viewing the world as filled with evil and sees it as filled with people who have feelings, hearts, and minds just as he does.

Mimi doesn't worry about "destiny" or what she's "supposed" to be doing with her life. She carries the Crest of Sincerity because she is honest and direct in nearly everything that she does. She extends that point of view to Jin so he is able to understand that it doesn't matter if he was someone else's mistake, be it his father's, Mr. X's, or even the Digital World's. All that matters for Jin, and indeed for anyone, is that he lives his life as his own, and that he doesn't have to prove himself to anyone. Not to Mr. X, not to the Digital World, and not even to his dead mother.

The conflict on the top of the WTC is meant to represent a literal climax of the story with everyone teetering on the edge. Ultimately, when Jin falls from the tower, it represents his old personality falling away. When we see him again, he is in prison, without his digimon, and in a wheelchair. And yet, his attitude is upbeat because he has seized on the notion that he has control over his own life; despite being a prisoner and powerless physically, in his mind he has become **free**.

* * *

**Conclusion and Continuation**

I really enjoyed writing this story. Jin was/is a really fun character to write and I'm glad people connected with him and this story. (On my profile, you can see a glimpse of the artwork Aardwulf made of him and Scarmon that she gave me for Christmas. [The URL to the full-sized version is at the bottom of this page.])

There are changes in the updated version of this story, but mostly it consists of changes to the dialogue to make it more realistic. Also, some story elements like Jin's background and his trials and tribulations in the Digital World are made more plain and expanded upon. I also took out a few lines regarding the World Trade Center that I found just a little _too_ creepy to be left in, even considering that the plot centering on it remains.

There are some things I am not quite satisfied with, but I left in anyway. For one, I disliked the scene in Chapter 3 with Jin and Scarmon where they discover an unconscious Kari and Gatomon. It's a cheap plot device that she's barely conscious when she tells Jin about the Digiport and thus does not remember him and that Jin immediately abandons her when she's the first human other than the Digimon Emperor that he's met in ages. I tried to rewrite that scene to make it darker and more ominous, and perhaps have him interrogate Gatomon while threatening to harm an unconscious Kari. The idea was it would paint Jin as having become paranoid, untrusting, and much darker and more violent than when we last saw him in Chapter 2. Gatomon would not reveal this to Kari to prevent her well-meaning partner from trying to find the psychotic boy. Ultimately, however, I was not happy with rewriting that scene. It made Jin seem _too_ cruel to threaten someone like Kari unprovoked, and I didn't want to turn readers against him.

Another plot hole, pointed out by some readers, is that Jin probably couldn't survive such a long fall from the top of the tower, even if Carnagemon helped to break his fall to the point of only injuring his spine. To that, I say… yeah, you're probably right. However, I wanted there to be a fall and a contrast with his physical power being traded for real power: the power over his own future. So, yes, it is a little corny, but I've kept it as part of the story.

Ultimately, I left the story open-ended merely because I wanted it to be a story about hope. Jin's future could potentially be bright, and it belongs to him alone, even if it is unknown.

But by the time the story had reached its conclusion, I had become attached to the guy, and also to the interplay between him, Mimi, and Michael. Writing something that included all of them sounded fun, and I was interested in writing a longer story that spanned many locations that mimicked a real season of "Digimon."

Plus, while I was happy that Jin had decided to turn over a new leaf, he hadn't yet been given a chance to prove himself. I wanted to see him work with others as part of a team to try and make up for his past misdeeds and become a true hero. That, along with my desire to see the other characters develop, as well as the desire to create some new characters, spawned my most ambitious project: "Ancient Enemy: A Digimon FanNovel."

If you've enjoyed this story and want to see more adventures about Jin, Mimi, Michael, and a few others, please give "Ancient Enemy" a read. I've gone through and updated it and will be re-launching it with new updates very soon. I hate leaving things unfinished and even after all these years, I am looking forward to finally telling the rest of this character's story.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think or if you have any questions or comments. I make it a point to read and often respond to any reviews I get!

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_Want to get started reading "Ancient Enemy?" You can find it on my profile page here: fanfiction**DOT**net/~thinker_

_Also, you can find the full sized picture of Jin and Scarmon enjoying some Christmas carnage at my DeviantArt page (done by the lovely and talented Aardwulf, for the record!): maruraba**DOT**deviantartDOTcom/#/d4m2r0k  
_

_Replace the **DOT**s with actual dots like this - .  
_


	7. BONUS: The Feast of St Roch

_Author's Note: Not many people know that I actually plan out a bit of my characters' backstories without revealing them. This is an untold story that takes place largely during the reign of the Dark Masters, while the original Digidestined were on Earth fighting Myotismon, and while Jin was aging more rapidly as the Digital World's time moved more quickly. This story is a little more _**guttural**_ than what I usually write, but it is in keeping with the original tale's tone. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (and hopefully breaking my horrible writer's block in the process)._

_-Thinker, August 16, 2012  
_

* * *

**Unintended: The Lost Chapter**

"**The Feast of St. Roch"**

* * *

The year was 1997, August 16, and young Jin Takamura walked down an alleyway in his neighborhood in Ikebukuro, one of many districts in the city of Tokyo. This was a little while after the Heighten View Terrace incident and a few years before he became a Digidestined and went to the Digital World. He carried a soccer ball under one arm, occasionally tossing it in the air and catching it playfully. He had been playing soccer with some children down at the schoolyard, but things had quickly turned ugly.

"You can't just shove me, Jin!" one boy had said after Jin forced the boy down to steal the ball.

"Sure I can," he laughed. "It's my birthday, so I get to break a few rules."

"It doesn't matter, you dummy! You can't just break rules because you don't like them, even if it is your birthday!"

"Says who?"

"Says… um, us!" said another boy, and others stood by him in agreement.

One of the older boys, nearly 11, started to laugh, and Jin felt his blood begin to boil. "You can't blame him," he said in mock sympathy as he picked up the ball. "He's mad because his team is losing. That, and he sucks at soccer. I heard from my mom that he doesn't have a dad, so nobody ever taught him how to play the right way."

This brought a few more laughs from the other boys. Jin clenched a fist for a moment, but his expression did not change. He calmly stepped towards the older boy and stared up at him, his gray eyes hard. Then, after a moment, his lip quivered and he looked down.

"Aw, what's the matter, baby, are you going to cry now?" the older boy laughed.

But what the older boy didn't see was that Jin's expression suddenly changed to a sneer. With surprising speed, he grabbed both of the boy's shoulders, propelled himself upwards and delivered a surprise headbutt to the older boy's face. As he staggered back, Jin stomped on his foot, reeled back, and, swinging as hard as he could, hit him square in the face with a vicious right hook. The boy went down, his nose gushing blood and he began sobbing profusely.

"Aw, what's the matter, baby?" Jin echoed. "Look who's crying now." He chuckled as the other boys stared on in shock at the sudden brutality.

"Whoa, hey, Jin—" one of the other boys began, but Jin ignored whatever the boy was going to say and bent down, picking up the soccer ball. As he turned from his victim, he kicked some dust behind him and tucked the ball under his arm.

"Game's over, the ball's mine," Jin said. "This idiot just gave it to me as a birthday present."

"Hey, that's not fair!" another boy said. "Come on, man, we're even on the same team, if you take it, nobody can play!"

"Find another, this one's mine."

"Darn it, Jin, give that ball back!"

Jin looked at him and smirked. He held up one fist, blood still on his knuckles, and said, "You can have it. If you can come and take it, that is."

The other boys had him outnumbered, but not one of them stepped forward.

"That's what I thought. Thanks for the present, guys. I'll see you around." And with that, he walked off, leaving the group behind as he made for home.

In retrospect, though, it was a stupid move. He didn't even like soccer that much, and now he had a ball he was fairly certain he would never play with. Or, at the very least, not with those boys unless he apologized, and that was never going to happen. Actually, one of those wimps would probably tell their mammy who would inevitably call Jin's mother, who would inevitably yell "Shame on you!" at him or one of her other stock lines. Just thinking about it was pissing him off.

"Damn," he said, tossing the ball into the air, a little higher than before. "Damn it, damn it, _damn it!"_ he growled, this time drop-kicking the ball high and letting it land a short distance in front of him, bouncing a bit further down the alleyway. It landed near a trashcan and suddenly, stepping out from behind it, a large dog, a Doberman Pincher, appeared. Jin froze for a moment, tensing up at the size of the dog. However, it didn't look particularly menacing, and it only stared back at him with what seemed to be curiosity. He relaxed and felt his bravery return.

"Shoo!" Jin said. "Get lost, ya dumb dog!" He had no real reason for doing this, but felt embarrassed at being momentarily frightened by the animal. Even if nobody had seen, he had to reassure himself that he was no sissy.

"You heard me, get out of—" He was cut off, however, as the dog bent down and took hold of the large soccer ball in his mouth, holding it up and wagging his tail. Jin stepped forward and the dog moved away slightly. "Oh no you don't! Don't you dare!" The dog turned and ran. Jin momentarily considered letting it go, since he didn't even really want the ball… but that would mean letting go of something that was _his_. Or at least, he had claimed it for himself. And nobody, not even a dumb dog, was going to get the best of him. He took off running after the dog.

After weaving in and out of the alleys and across a few streets, narrowly avoiding a car that honked angrily at him and slipping by several stupid adults who shouted at him for nearly knocking them over, he finally tracked the dog to the grounds of an old Christian church. Once inside the front gate, he saw not only the dog who took the ball, but several other dogs of all different breeds. They were gathered before the front door and a Catholic priest was standing there, the dogs all sitting and wagging their tails. This was especially surprising because the priest had a large bowl filled with bits of sausage and it was pretty clear the dogs all wanted some. But they waited, amazingly, as the priest called them, one by one, and gave them one piece at a time.

"Here you are, John… One for you, Pocchi… Of course, Augustine… Tadakichi, don't jump…"

Jin approached cautiously, but the dogs didn't seem to take notice. Jin wasn't sure he'd ever seen a Catholic priest anywhere else besides television. He wasn't even really sure what to say.

_"Anno ne,"_ he said, getting the priest's attention, _"nanda kore wa? Inu Koen desu ka?"_

The priest, startled at his voice, stared at him. He had an interesting face, with some traits that looked Japanese, but larger eyes and somewhat curly hair. The priest looked confused.

_"Yappari gaijin da,"_ Jin sighed. "Ah… hallo, _oyaji_," he said, continuing in what little English he knew. "Do you… speak… Japanese? Why… why doggu?"

The priest laughed, but answered in perfect Japanese. "Yes, I speak Japanese," he said in the native language. "I am not, in fact, _gaijin_, strictly speaking, I was born and raised in Japan. But I am half Japanese. My father was from France, my mother from Japan. And in answer to your question, this is just a simple Catholic church, and not, in fact, a Dog Park."

Jin breathed a little easier. Hopefully this guy would get him his ball back. "Hm, that's cool, I guess. Are those your dogs?"

The man thought this over. "No, I suppose not. They are strays, former pets, and the like. But I feed them on occasion, and today is truly an occasion."

"You feed them sausages?"

"Not normally, but, as I said, this is a special occasion. It's—"

"It's my birthday!" Jin blurted, his young enthusiasm overcoming his general mistrust of adults.

"Is it now?" the man said, smiling broadly. "Well, happy birthday, my son! Oh, by the way, I didn't catch your name?"

"Jin Takamura," he replied. He wasn't one for ceremony, but now that he knew this guy was Japanese, he supposed he ought to at least be polite enough to get his ball back (and he admitted he kind of liked the oddly dressed, strange-looking not quite _gaijin_) so he bowed quickly, adding, _"Yoroshiku onegai shimasu."_

The priest likewise bowed, _"Kochira koso, yoroshiku onegai shimasu,"_ he said. "I am called Father Joseph Ashizawa. Sometimes the children call me 'Papa Joe.'"

Jin wasn't much for nicknames, nor was he big on the words "Father" or "Papa," so he said nothing to that. "That dog took the ball I— the ball I got for my birthday," he said.

Papa Joe looked at the Doberman still carrying the soccer ball in his mouth. "Alfonse! Drop it!" The dog obeyed and instantly let it drop, letting it bounce down the steps of the church. Some of the other dogs made a move for it, but Papa Joe made a quick sound of warning and sternly said "Leave it!" and let the ball roll over to Jin, who picked it up triumphantly. He had no reason to stay, but now he was at least a little curious about why this priest was feeding the dogs sausages instead of dog treats or scraps. The smell of them was fresh and not a little bit mouth-watering. His stomach growled reflexively.

"Would you like one?" Papa Joe asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? No! Like I would want your dumb old dog sausages," he said, his stomach growling again. "I'm not going to ask for one, or beg like your dogs."

"And if I offered one? As a birthday snack?"

"That… that'd be okay," Jin said, relenting. He walked over and Papa Joe handed him a large chunk of sausage that the group of dogs stared at hungrily. He polished it off quickly and Papa Joe resumed feeding the dogs their share. "Thanks," Jin muttered.

"My pleasure. It's nice to get things on your birthday."

"You said it was some kind of 'occasion,'" Jin reminded him. "What's going on? Why are you feeding these mutts?"

"Ah, yes, of course," he said. "Well, this is my own little tradition. Today, August 16th, by an odd coincidence, is a holiday. The Feast of St. Roch."

"Who?"

"Well, not a particularly famous person, even in Europe or other places with far more Catholics than Japan, but an interesting person nonetheless," he answered. "St. Roch was born in France, but traveled to Italy to tend to the sick. It was said that he tended to those infected with the Black Death, a deadly plague that killed over a third of the people in Europe. His name is invoked as protection against disease."

"What does that have to do with dogs?"

"I'm getting to that," Papa Joe said, mildly annoyed, and Jin surprisingly shut his mouth and listened. "As with many who tended the sick, he too fell ill one day. He was driven from the town to prevent further spread of disease and would have died, but a nobleman's dog, in a miraculous act of God, began bringing him bread to eat, and licking the sores on his body."

"Bleh!" Jin said.

"I suppose it is a bit disgusting, but somehow this healed the wounds. When the dog's master, the nobleman, followed his faithful dog to find Roch, he became his acolyte."

"Huh?"

"His disciple."

"Huh?"

"A guy who followed him and supported him and stuff," Papa Joe explained.

"Ohhh."

"So now, we remember St. Roch as the patron saint of dogs and he who keeps pestilence at bay."

Jin nodded. It wasn't a bad story. He thought about that old show he used to watch in the mornings when he was much younger, _A Dog of Flanders_. It was about a poor boy and his dog living in Europe. He vaguely remembered wanting a dog because of the show and he would murder anyone who ever found out that both he and his mother cried at the ending of the show.

He absentmindedly pet the dog who stole the ball, Alfonse, on the head. "Good dog," he said, and scratched it behind his ears. The dog put his ears back, apparently appreciative, and Jin smiled. "Good dog," he said again.

"Do you like dogs, my son?"

"Jin," he said. "Just call me Jin. And yeah, I guess I do like dogs."

"Me too. So I feed them some scraps or some dog biscuits from time to time. But on the Feast of St. Roch, I always do two things: I volunteer at the hospital and minister to the ill, and then I come back here and prepare a little feast for my canine friends. Just my own little tradition."

"That's cool," Jin said, continuing to pet the dog, suddenly getting jealous whines from the other dogs. He sighed and pet a terrier. Then another dog, and another until he had to put down the ball to free up his other hand to pet them all.

Papa Joe smiled. "Dogs are special animals, you know," he said, almost with reverence. "They are pack animals, and always follow their leader in the wild, just like wolves. They obey humans, their masters, with absolute obedience, if you let them know who is in charge. And they are tenacious and never give up. If you send a dog to hunt down what you are looking for, it will go after it without fail. That is why police use dogs to track criminals on the run. And you look like a tough young man… perhaps you would like a nice, tough dog to be your friend and ally?"

Jin thought that over. Well… why not! He brightened at the thought. How expensive could a dog really be? That settled it, when he got home, he'd ask his mother if he could have a dog for his birthday. A dog was better than any old baby toy anyway.

He thanked the priest and made his way home. He was just stepping in the front door of the apartment building when he realized that he'd left the soccer ball at the church. "Dammit, that was—" but then he stopped, realizing he didn't really care about it anyway. He smiled as he entered his apartment, slipping his shoes off as he stepped inside. He heard his mother working in another room.

"Mom?" he called. "I've been thinking about it and—"

"Jin Takamura, what did you _do_ today?" she demanded, her angry voice loud enough to wake the dead. "I got a call from some boy's mother who says that you took something…"

"Happy birthday to me," he grumbled.

* * *

Jin grumbled again as the vague memory, perhaps the tail-end of a dream, stirred him from his sleep. He sat up on his makeshift mattress, stuffed with grass, straw, and whatever else he could find to provide cushioning, grunting as it provided very little comfort and protection against the hard concrete floor. He and Scarmon were camped out in one of a great many abandoned buildings in the Endless City, one of four distinct stripes found here on Spiral Mountain. It had been over two years since he had come to the Digital World, and after a year of hunting down minor criminals, those rat bastards the Dark Masters had shown up.

He still remembered the day the whole world began to shake and shift, breaking apart and reforming as it shifted into the different realms. He and Scarmon had taken shelter in a building in a small Digimon town. It looked sturdy enough to provide some cover. Having lived in Japan almost all his young life, he was familiar with earthquakes, and knew that even a strong one should only last a few minutes. But this sound and trembling went on for hours, and he had to admit that the experience was terrifying. When he mustered the courage to look out the window, he saw that the whole town, the whole city, the whole world, seemed to be moving.

He was now part of the Endless City, part of the realm of the Dark Master known as Machinedramon.

Looking out the window of their present location, he looked cautiously up and down the streets, keeping an eye out for the roaming death squads that regularly patrolled. There didn't seem to be any, so he made his way to the bathroom, answered nature's call, and got a look at himself in the mirror.

For a face that was just shy of thirteen years, he looked considerably older. Dark circles under his eyes, ragged and greasy black hair, and the small hairs on his upper lip protruding out awkwardly. There was, fortunately, a little running water, though no power so a hot shower was out of the question, but at least they _finally_ had some indoor plumbing. He got out his pocket knife and ran some water over his face, gingerly shaving his adolescent mustache, careful to avoid cutting himself with the razor-sharp blade.

"Jin?" Scarmon called, waking up as he heard the running water. "That you?"

"No, it's Machinedramon. I'm just here to shave and take a dump. Hope you don't mind me using your bathroom before I blow you up."

"Yeah, hardy har har," Scarmon said. Jin heard his claws clicking loudly on the concrete floor as he sauntered into the bathroom. "Man, shaving again? You just did that last week!"

"When I get older, I might have to do this crap every day."

"At least you don't cut yourself doing it anymore," he said.

"Shut up," Jin said, not showing his embarrassment. Could Scarmon blame him? A lot of boys had a father to show him. Or at least someone else who knew what they were doing. And they had safety razors. Not Jin, though… in the Digital World, there were no other humans, adult or otherwise, to show him how to do it properly. And thus, when it came to shaving, he'd had to figure it all out by himself. Like a lot of things, lately.

He'd been dreaming about Earth more. Especially about girls. He wasn't even really sure what these feelings were, or if this was normal or if maybe he was just some pervert. How could he tell? There was no damn comparison!

"We leading the raid?" Scarmon asked, and the eagerness in his voice was obvious.

"Yeah," Jin said, walking back into the room. He began picking out his weapons, checking them one-by-one as he stuffed them inside his ragged black trench coat. "We meet up with Musyamon's group at noon. Today we take over that hospital. Medicine, bandages, and maybe I can find myself some sharper knives. I don't have any scalpels."

"Should be pretty heavily protected," Scarmon remarked. Then he grinned, flashing his sharp teeth as he did so, a gleam in his pupil-less, yellow eyes. "It's gonna be _real_ fun."

"Hopefully this will be even more fun than yesterday's interrogation," Jin said. "Today's forecast calls for sunny skies, very little wind, and a 90% chance of _pain_." He cracked his knuckles and the devious pair shared a mutual chuckle.

* * *

**The previous day:**

"Ugh…" Haguramon moaned. "Where… where am I?"

"The last room you'll ever see," a voice said. He looked around, suddenly panicking, but saw nothing. Thick metal cables tied him to a concrete pillar in what looked like the remnants of an underground parking garage. There were no lights, save for a few cracks coming from the ceiling, and he realized he must be in one of many burned-out ruins laid to waste in the formation of Spiral Mountain. Master Machinedramon had personally created a great many of these cavernous ruins, but now the Resistance made use of them. He tried to think back and vaguely recalled the previous day…

He had been with a large group, an armed force carrying supplies to a refueling station, with several Tankmon, Mekanorimon, and even a MetalTyranomon to provide protection. But then there were explosions and yelling and then _screaming_ and a horrible black figure with flashing claws and—

"You were the one who attacked us yesterday?" Haguramon demanded. "Release me at once! Lord Machinedramon will come for me, and when he does—"

"Not me. Not _only_ me," the voice said, and now he realized it was behind him, and the area echoed with a cruel laugh, and then it was answered with an even crueler laugh that came from somewhere in the shadows ahead of him. Deep in those shadows he caught the glow of hateful, gleaming yellow eyes and the barest glint of several sharp blades at the end of slender fingers.

The first speaker spoke again, this time closer than before. "Your master is going to be destroyed. But not today. Today… _you_ will die."

Haguramon didn't show his fear, though it was growing. "You don't scare me. Machinedramon will destroy you and anyone else who opposes the Dark Masters!"

"That doesn't help you, though. In fact, there's not very much you can do to help yourself at all. Let me give you a small taste of what might happen."

There was the sound of something electric, like a drill, and then there was a sudden pain in Haguramon's back as something sharp and metallic jammed into it. He screamed as he realized that whoever was behind him was unscrewing a panel on his metallic back, removing it roughly and leaving his clockwork innards completely exposed.

"Put that back!" he shouted. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"This," came the casual reply. And then there was a sudden _clang!_ sound as another metallic object was jammed into his body. His gaze was frozen and suddenly he couldn't breathe. He tried to struggle in vain for several moments when the object was finally removed and he was no longer paralyzed.

"That was me shoving a crowbar into your back, right between your gears. I just wanted to see what would happen. Looks like you can't breathe when I do that. I wonder what would happen if I just pried the whole thing out. Do you want to find out?"

"S-stop!" Haguramon shouted. "Look, don't do this, just tell me what you want! You already got our supplies from yesterday, right? What more do you want?!"

"Where are Machinedramon's headquarters?" the voice asked.

"I don't know," Haguramon said. And then there came another exasperated sigh and the sound of another tool being drawn. "No! Really, I don't—_AAARGGH!"_

Whatever it was now, it was far more painful than the crowbar. It took hold of something else in his body and pulled it in a direction it was never intended to go. It was excruciating and he loudly begged for his unseen tormentor to stop. But he did not stop until he was good and ready, and when he finally did, he said nothing for several minutes while Haguramon caught his breath.

"I could do this all day," the voice said. "And you don't even want to know what my friend might do."

Haguramon looked ahead into the shadows and tried to see what the strange figure was. Suddenly, it shot out, rushing at him with amazing speed and then it was in his face, a hulking, black demon with a mass of tangled red hair and a featureless face, with glistening claws that he held before him menacingly.

_"I'll enjoy tearing you apart,"_ Carnagemon said, his demonic, unearthly voice echoing throughout the cavernous room.

"No! No, please!" Haguramon screamed.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt you," the voice said, now assuming a soothing tone. Haguramon relaxed. "At least, not until I've tried out the blow torch." Haguramon's eyes went wide.

_"No!_ I'll talk, I'll tell you whatever you want to know! Anything I know, I'll talk!"

"But you don't know where Machinedramon is?"

"No, he only tells his highest ranking soldiers. I'm not that high on the totem pole, I'm just a quartermaster, for Goddramon's sake!"

The voice was silent for a bit. "Fine," it grunted. "Carnagemon, give him some room, let's see if he has anything worth knowing. The supplies you and your buddies were carrying, for instance… where was it going?"

"There's a hospital and refueling station about 10 kilometers from where we were. We've been gathering supplies there to fix up the mechanical digimon and treat the organic digimon in this area. Lord Machinedramon needs his soldiers in their best condition to stop the Resistance."

"How much supplies? And how many soldiers are guarding it?"

"About 50 soldiers. Maybe 5 Ultimate level digimon. And enough supplies to take care of a few hundred digimon. Like, four or five hundred, I think!"

"Hmm… that is very useful information. Thank you."

Haguramon was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he felt something else, something rectangular and heavy enter his body. "What… what was that?" he asked.

The speaker finally stepped out in front of him. He gasped when he saw this strange creature. He knew it couldn't be true, but what else could it be?

"You… you're a human! A Digidestined! But I thought they were all gone! Not one left!"

Jin gave him a wry grin. "That's what they said. But just because nobody ever counted me doesn't mean they should count me out." Carnagemon chuckled at Jin's little joke. "And that thing I just put inside you," Jin continued, "is a time bomb. You've got about 60 seconds left to live. It'll be quick and painless, but I can't let you run and tell Machinedramon what we know. Don't act so surprised, I told you I was going to kill you right when we started. You just helped me decide the method."

Jin and Carnagemon left the parking garage, ignoring the loud pleas from Haguramon, and walked up the stairs and into the light of day. Musyamon and the other members of the Resistance at his disposal were divvying up the supplies they took. Musyamon turned to the pair and nodded. "You two are finished interrogating that Haguramon?"

There was a dull _thud_ that echoed up the stairwell and the muffled sounds of Haguramon's begging abruptly stopped.

"We are now," Jin replied, and he and Carnagemon shared a chuckle as the Mega level reverted back to Scarmon.

"You aren't like the stories about the Digidestined that I've heard," Musyamon said. "I'd criticize the brutality of your methods, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and judging by the look on your face, you got some good information."

"Oh yeah," Jin said. "Wait 'til you get a load of this…"

He explained the information Haguramon had related, drawing cheers from the Resistance members who heard the news.

"That medical supplies will be a great boon to our cause if we can get our hands on it," Musyamon said.

"Just remember that part of that supply is ours."

"You could just stay with us," Musyamon said. "You sympathize with our cause, you work alongside us, but you choose to stay separate and demand your own share of any gains we have."

"We're helping you out as a favor, but the ultimate goal here is to kill Machinedramon. You spend half your energy just trying to survive."

"We don't have the means to take Machinedramon down," Musyamon said bitterly. "And neither do you."

"Whatever. Let's set up a meeting time and a rendezvous point and we'll meet you tomorrow."

* * *

**Also that morning:**

Of course, what neither of them knew was that Machinedramon was in his headquarters that morning, listening as his minions relayed important information, calmly watching the various monitors that displayed information and reconnaissance from all over his vast domain. Huge and metallic, his expression never changed. If you didn't know what he was, you might swear he was a statue, so rarely did he move or even speak. If there was nothing to comment on, then he made no comment. But when an order was given, the grating, electric rasp that emanated from this severe, humorless giant was enough to hold your attention quite firmly.

"Sir," a Haguramon watching a monitor said, "Upsilon squad did not meet at the checkpoint at the appointed time. They were passing through an area with a lot of suspected Resistance activity. Shall I send a squad to investigate, sir?"

_"No,"_ came the cold, raspy reply. _"Their interception is clear evidence of the Resistance's involvement. They are in need of supplies. They will likely have gained information about the supply point at the hospital."_

"Then we should send reinforcements to protect it?"

_"No. We will use this opportunity to our advantage."_

"Then… we should reduce the forces guarding it?"

_"No," _Machinedramon said. _"This is a matter that has annoyed me for too long. I will handle it myself."_

"Yes sir!" the Haguramon said. "Oh, and Theta squad has encountered a band of Numamon hiding in a bunker. They've been captured. Shall we send them to WaruMonzaemon?"

_"Yes, send them to the labor camp. Perhaps then that fool will finally be able to keep ahead of schedule. Now, while I am gone, all of you are to continue your work as normal."_ Machinedramon paused meaningfully._ "No deviations from the schedule or any other plans will be tolerated. Is that clear?"_

"Y-yes, of course, sir. You have nothing to worry about, sir."

_"See that I don't, Haguramon. See that I don't."_

* * *

It was just a little after noon, one day later. Jin had met up with Musyamon and discussed their plan. Now they were camped out near the hospital, observing the comings and goings of the various soldiers as supplies came or were shipped out. Just like all things run by Machinedramon, it was orderly and efficient. No talking, regular patterns, no nonsense. Perfect. Cold. _Order._

Of course, the great thing about perfect order is that it made sudden chaos all the more… _chaotic._

Jin motioned for Scarmon to come closer. "We're moving in first," he whispered. "I take out the patrol coming through the alley. You take out the ones on the roof. Then the main force attacks and we can turn this hospital upside-down for all the goodies inside."

Scarmon's grin spread slowly. "Have I mentioned lately how much I enjoy this? Because I really do. Violence is just a good time for everyone."

"I don't know about _everyone_," Jin remarked, and the two enjoyed a good laugh.

* * *

A Gazimon, a Kokuwamon, and a Ginryumon patrolled the alley. They turned a corner and saw a small box placed deliberately in the middle of their path.

"Kokuwamon, go check that out," Ginryumon, the senior officer among them, ordered.

The metallic insect digimon carefully made his way to the box, cautiously poking it with one finger. "There… doesn't seem to be anything inside it," Kokuwamon said. When he looked back, however, he saw Ginryumon staring back at him calmly, but there was no sign of Gazimon, who was supposed to take up the rear.

"Wh-where did Gazimon go?" Kokuwamon asked.

Ginryumon whipped his head around and saw that the small, gray digimon was gone. "Easy, Kokuwamon," Ginryumon said. "Just stick by me and we'll search for him. Gazimon! If you can hear me, give a sign!" The two were silent and listened for their companion to say something.

Kokuwamon tried to remain calm as he desperately cast his eyes around. When he saw nothing and heard nothing, he turned back to Ginryumon. "I don't see him. What should we do, sir?"

Ginryumon opened his mouth to say something, when there was a sudden _twang_ sound and an arrow lodged itself in his open mouth, jammed right down his throat. Ginryumon's whole body was covered with plate armor, he had virtually no weak points, but his assassin had clearly the aim and the timing to fire the arrow in just the right place. Kokuwamon was brought out of admiration for the assassin's skill, however, as Ginryumon gasped, coughed up a spray of blood, and his eyes rolled back in his head. He slumped the ground, deleting a moment later.

"H-help!" Kokuwamon shouted, moving for the alley's exit. "Contact! Repeat, we have con—"

He was tackled off his feet and he found himself staring up into the hard, cruel face of Jin Takamura. With one hand, Jin pressed him to the ground. With the other hand, he held what looked like a makeshift tazer.

"I wonder if the voltage on this is high enough," Jin wondered aloud, and jammed the sparking end into Kokuwamon's neck. The little robot digimon let out a distorted, electric scream of pain as the blast of electric power coursed through his body. After only a few moments, he too shattered into data. Jin stood, dusting himself off, noting that some of Gazimon's blood had gotten on his coat when he snatched him from behind and drove the knife into his back. "Yep," he said. "It's high enough. I wonder if Carnagemon will be picking them off one-by-one or—"

There was an earth-shattering explosion and Jin looked up at the top of the hospital from his spot in the alley. Flames erupted from the roof and the sounds of several digmon screaming for help as Carnagemon hunted them down and eliminated them. The whole area was filled with the sounds of Machinedramon's soldiers as they argued over what to do next. They hadn't been expecting an attack, let alone from a powerful Mega level like Carnagemon.

"Looks like he's going with the traditional way," Jin sighed, though he really expected nothing else from his vicious little partner. "That guy really can't hold anything back." He reloaded his crossbow, the same makeshift one he'd just used to kill Ginryumon, and listened as Musyamon's soldiers moved in on the confused force guarding the entrance. The explosive sounds of battle ensued.

"Carnagemon!" he shouted. His partner leaped down from the burning rooftop and landed next to him. Despite his size, with his wiry frame and agility, he landed with the gentleness and grace of a cat. "Let's get moving, partner. We're missing the fun."

* * *

It only took another 15 minutes to completely eradicate the forces outside, and the ones inside the building quickly surrendered. Now Musyamon had the Resistance members sweeping through the hospital, grabbing everything they could and bringing it outside.

"You two are a real terror, you know," Musyamon said. "To think… a Mega level digimon that isn't with the Dark Masters. If you would reign that power in and apply it to a more organized push for freedom, you could do a lot of good."

"Not interested," Jin said. "This conversation's getting old, Musyamon. Let's get the supplies and then we can start interrogating the hostages."

"With a little investment in others, we could be more successful working together. I hate not knowing if you're going to stay or just go off on your own at a moment's notice."

"You'll thank us when we do your job for you," Jin remarked. "Just let us get Machinedramon in our sights and Carnagemon will take him down."

_"Giga Cannon!"_

The sudden, electric bellow rang out over the area and a moment later the hospital was obliterated. In a fiery burst of concrete, smoke, and glass, the building simply vanished. The shockwave radiated out and all the bystanders outside were swept off their feet. Jin struggled to get up and watched in horrified awe when the adjacent buildings crumbled as Machinedramon effortlessly plowed right through them, walking through them as effortlessly as a child knocking over building blocks. This was the first time he'd ever really seen Machinedramon in person and he realized how much he'd underestimated the sheer size of the monster. He was brought out of his stupor, however, as he heard Musyamon scream.

"No! My soldiers were still in there!"

_"As, I suspect," _Machinedramon rumbled, _"were many of mine. But while I can take the loss of my soldiers, this should be a critical blow to your pathetic platoon of the Resistance. You should have stayed underground. Wasting away in the darkness is a far better option than choosing to oppose me."_

"Carnagemon, it's time!" Jin shouted.

_"I'm ready,"_ his partner said, unsheathing his blade-like claws and facing his oversized opponent without a trace of fear.

"Everyone else, gather what you can and retreat!" Musyamon ordered to the remainder of his forces.

"Aw, you're going to miss the fireworks," Jin laughed. "Carnagemon may be a lot smaller, but he's going to tear this bastard apart."

Musyamon didn't listen, but rallied his troops as Carnagemon launched himself at Machinedramon. The gigantic iron dragon took a swing at his much smaller foe, but Carnagemon was nimble enough to twist himself in mid-air and dodge the attack completely, bouncing off Machinedramon's arm and vaulting completely over him.

_"Too easy,"_ Carnagemon laughed, raising one clawed hand and aiming right for Machinedramon's back. _**"Visceral Slash!"**_

Carnagemon struck as hard as he could, but to his amazement his claws barely penetrated an inch into Machinedramon's hull. Worse yet, they were stuck, lodged in the metal so hard that he couldn't seem to free them. He not only heard, but _felt_ Machinedramon's cruel laugh as it reverberated throughout his body.

_"You insignificant little weakling. __You've walked right into your own destruction. You _and_ your allies."_

Carnagemon looked around and saw that various forces were now marching on the area, quickly surrounding them. Tankmon, Gardromon, and many others were closing in, and their numbers were too great for Jin, Musyamon, and the other Resistance members to fend off. If Carnagemon wasn't busy with Machinedramon, he could help, but…

_"You see now that you've nowhere else to run to,"_ Machinedramon said. _"Now die."_

Machinedramon jumped backwards into the air as Carnagemon tried desperately to yank his claws out. But he was powerless as Machinedramon smashed into the ground, pressing him between the solid pavement on the ground and his own titanic weight. He felt all the air crushed from his body and even with his own great strength, he felt his claws snap off and several of his bones give way. But he ignored the agony as one thought consumed him: _Jin…!_

* * *

As for his partner, he was watching the fight, and his courage and lust for battle quickly gave way to horror. Firstly at the sight of Carnagemon overpowered and crushed into the pavement, and then again when he saw Machinedramon's forces moving in from the streets and alleyways.

"Musyamon, it's an ambush!" he shouted.

"Those who can fight, cover our retreat!" Musyamon ordered.

Jin wasn't about to cower in the shadows or retreat with the others when he could still fight. These digimon constantly underestimated him, but he had spent two years learning to fight, to dodge, and he'd collected his own arsenal of deadly weapons. Grenades, knives, homemade crossbows, and anything else he could collect or fashion himself became viable weapons. He reached into his trench coat and removed a homemade firebomb, lighting the fuse and lobbing it at an oncoming Gardromon.

The red, metallic digimon was about to fire his Grenade Launcher attack when the bomb collided, exploding and covering him with a sticky homemade napalm. He was engulfed in burning hot flames and he flailed around miserably until the heat finally reached his reserve of grenades and he exploded in a fiery ball.

"That's one for me," Jin laughed. "Who's next?"

The stronger Resistance members met Machinedramon's forces head on and soon the whole area was rocked with shouts, explosions, and the sounds of weapons colliding with each other. Small and inconspicuous, young Jin Takamura weaved in and out, finding weak spots and firing his crossbow or making critical strikes with his knife, or, if his opponent was totally metallic, with his homemade tazer. It looked as though things were actually going his way as he momentarily ducked into an alley to light another firebomb.

"Let's see, which of them looks the most flammable?" he asked.

"Surrender, Resistance scum!" a voice bellowed. Jin turned and saw a huge Monochromon at the other end of the alley.

"You'll do," Jin muttered, and flicked his lighter. But his heart sank as it failed to light. "Oh come on, come on," he growled, flicking it over and over again to no avail. He looked up and saw the Monochromon as he gave a roar and charged him. The one-horned, massive digimon occupied the entire width of the alley and was bearing down on him too fast to get out of the way. That only left one option: try to vault over him.

Jin ran at the creature, intending to leap onto his horn and scamper over his back. It was a move he'd done more times than he could count. Monochromon were common enough and he had formed plenty of strategies for dealing with them.

But at the last moment it all went wrong. He leaped forward, but just as he did, the Monochromon also reared up, lifting himself forward, colliding with Jin and ramming him like a freight train. He felt his ribs crack and he was sent sailing through the air, straight out of the alley. He landed flat on his back, his head colliding with the hard concrete and the whole world became a dizzying white blur. He gasped for breath, even as the pain in his chest flared up, and struggled to his feet. He staggered, not aware that the Monochromon was still approaching him from behind. Only at the last moment did he finally hear the pounding of his heavy feet and he whirled around to see the creature lowering his head, intending to spear him with his horn. He tried to spin out of the way, but it was too late. The horn caught him on his side, just at his lower abdomen, and though he managed to avoid a far worse injury, the sharp horn still carved a deep wound that went from his gut and up his side to his back.

He let out a horrible, agonized scream as an explosion of blood splattered him, the Monochromon, and any nearby combatants still fighting in the street.

The sound of his scream carried over the wind and was loud enough to be heard by Carnagemon. Unfortunately, he was still stunned, flat on his back and at Machinedramon's mercy.

_"It sounds like your human's time has run out,"_ Machinedramon rumbled as he stood over Carnagemon's body. _"At least you two will meet in the next world together."_ He raised his foot, intending to stomp on Carnagemon and grind him into the ground.

_**"Havoc Beam!" **_Carnagemon attacked, catching Machinedramon off guard and blasting him backwards. The attack was enough to singe and slightly melt some of the iron monster's hull, but not enough to seriously wound him. But that didn't matter. Carnagemon got to his feet and sprang over to where the Resistance was fighting. He looked around frantically and spotted Jin lying still in the middle of the street in a pool of his own blood. The Monochromon responsible was approaching him, ready to finish him off by trampling him underfoot.

_**"Visceral Slash!" **_He sprinted forward and delivered the lethal blow, cutting through Monochromon with ease. He cast his gaze down the street and saw more Tankmon and Mekanorimon approaching. He raised his hands and launched his other attack at them. _**"Havoc Beam!" **_The beam obliterated the oncoming forces and left most of the street in a fiery inferno. The sight of Carnagemon joining the fight was enough to cause the remainder of Machinedramon's army to flee from the battle in terror.

_"Musyamon, help me get Jin to safety! We've got to get out of here!"_

Musyamon gave a quick nod, and gathered up the boy. While Machinedramon was still down and stunned, they all made their escape through the abandoned buildings and subway tunnels as best they could.

"Sir, are you all right?" a Tankmon called to Machinedramon.

_"Worthless weaklings like that could not hope to harm me,"_ Machinedramon said. _"Begin a search of this entire area. A sweep of sectors K-5 through K7 and L-5 through L-8 should suffice. Search each building and sweep through the tunnels. Eliminate any Resistance members left or drive them so far underground that they never dare to see the sun again."_

* * *

"Jin! Jin, say something!" Scarmon cried. They were all gathered in a small warehouse on the outskirts of the Endless City. Not far from where they were, the wide desert stretched off into the horizon. The hot wind blew in from the area and even in the cool shade, the heat was increasing. Jin was stretched out on a makeshift mattress, his breathing shallow and labored, and sweat poured off his brow. Bandages were wrapped all around his midsection. On his right side, where he'd received the wound, a dark red spot seeped through and stained the white bandages.

"He's still unconscious," Musyamon said. "We've bandaged him up the best we could, but he has lost a lot of blood. That injury to his side looks very serious. We've slowed the bleeding, but I'm not sure it's enough to completely stop it."

"Then what do we do next?" Scarmon demanded.

"Next, we retreat back to the tunnels under the city. We need to move quickly, before Machinedramon's army is able to track us."

"Okay, fine, then let's get Jin wrapped up and take him with us!"

Musyamon sighed. "No."

"What? What do you mean?" Scarmon barred his teeth instantly, an angry growl rising from his throat.

"If we move him too roughly in this state, we'll re-open the wound and he'll bleed whatever blood he has left. To move him as carefully as we'd need to, we'd have to move as slow as possible. And that is out of the question. As I said, we need to move before Machinedramon tracks us."

"Then what do we do?" Scarmon shouted. "There has to be something you can do for Jin!"

"There… there is," Musyamon said, and several members of the Resistance turned and looked away. Musyamon reached down to his sword and gave a sigh as he drew it. "At this point, this is the only mercy I can give him."

Scarmon's eyes went wide. "Oh no," he said. "No no no! No way! He's my partner and nobody's going to kill him on my watch!"

Musyamon looked at the small, black digimon with compassion. "Are you sure? There's nothing more we can do for him, and if we leave him like this, I don't see how he'll survive. He'll eventually bleed out and, in the meantime, it will be a slow and painful death. Perhaps you should just—"

"Jin's too tough to die. If we give him time, he'll make it." Scarmon's words were hard and spoken with confidence, but all this earned him was looks of pity from the others.

"I don't know where humans go to be reborn," Musyamon said, "but hopefully you can go and meet him there to ask for forgiveness after making him suffer through this."

Scarmon considered this. _Do humans have a place like Primary Village? Where do they go when they're deleted? Jin never said…_

"You could stay," Scarmon said. "He helped you out, and you still owe him—"

"You both made it clear that you were never really our comrades," Musyamon said. "And we just used a large portion of the few medical supplies we were able to procure on him. I think we've held up our end of the bargain. I won't risk any more of my comrades for someone who doesn't know the value of teamwork, friendship, and honor."

"You bastard," Scarmon growled.

"I'm sorry to say this, but part of me fears what will happen if that boy is left alive. I know about your story, your status as the Unintended. The unfathomable rage that boy carries powers his crest and makes you a strong combatant, but I don't see how it will ever be quenched. He has no single target for it, and he vents it on his enemies with such savagery, such vitriol… how can I trust this boy to save the world when it is so clear that, in his heart of hearts, he _hates_ the world?"

Scarmon leaped at Musyamon, sinking his teeth into his hand, but Musyamon flung him off with ease. The small digimon snarled at him in rage. "Fine! Then leave and I'll take care of him! And when we're back on our feet, you better hope we don't run into you again, or you'll regret it! I'll never forgive you for leaving him to die!"

Musyamon said no more, but heaved a sigh and motioned for his soldiers to gather up their things and prepare to leave. There were no more than a dozen of them left, and they somberly began to pack their bags.

Scarmon made his way to the sink in the warehouse corner and turned on the water, soaking a washcloth and bringing it over to Jin to mop his brow. None of this was particularly easy, considering that he had four legs, no thumbs, and had to use his mouth to do it. Once that was done, he returned to sink, filled a bowl with water, and placed it beside his partner. When he awoke, he'd give him as much water as he needed. Of course, that left the issue of food, because even Scarmon realized this wound would take a long time to heal. Partnering up with Jin had left him very aware that while digimon could recover from almost any injury in short order, humans could take weeks or even months to heal. And this was the worst injury Jin had ever received.

"Machinedramon won't stop lookin' for 'im, ya know," a new voice said. Scarmon turned and saw one of the Resistance soldiers, an Armadillomon, walking over to him. "It'll take 'em a few days to look, but they'll find 'im. He won't be healed up before then, that's for sure."

"You got a point, Speedbump?" Scarmon growled.

"Matter of fact, I do," Armadillomon said. "I ain't one to disagree with Musyamon, usually. He's a good leader and y'all are fools for not joinin' up with us officially, but he's wrong in thinkin' that we don't owe you anything more. We wouldn't've made it this far without y'all, so I'm gonna let ya in on a secret."

Scarmon turned and gave this his full attention.

"You ever hear of a thing called the Phoenix Fruit?" Scarmon nodded. "Well, then you probably heard that it's got healin' properties. They say you eat a whole fruit by yerself and it'll heal you up like you never got hurt in the first place. If y'all had one of those, this boy would be back in business."

"But those things aren't real," Scarmon said. "Everyone knows they're just a legend."

"No, they ain't. I've seen one," he said. "They're real, just very rare. See, before I joined up with Musyamon, I was out in the desert. Figured I'd take my chances there instead of in the city. Food was real hard to come by, though, and once I nearly dropped dead from lack of food and water. That's when I found it.

"There's an oasis, just barely a puddle, in the middle of the biggest expanse of sand you ever did see. Next to the water, there's this palm tree, right? It's got these green leaves, but the tips are red. Growin' from it are two fruits at a time. They look like pears, but they're yellow with bright red stripes. But they only grow once a month. And then you only get but a week to pick it, else they just fall right off and rot in a few hours. I figured this pattern out a while ago from livin' out there, but I don't reckon anyone else even knows about it. If yer willin' to risk it, you can go out there, bring one back here, and give it to yer friend. But it has to be the whole thing, minus the pit in the middle."

Scarmon seized on this immediately. "Where is it?!" he demanded. "That's perfect, you have to tell me where it is!"

"Follow me," Armadillomon said. He brought Scarmon to a window and pointed at the horizon. "Where that tall rock formation, the thin one between the mountains rises up… if you go past that and keep going in a straight line, you'll find the oasis. By my count, it's about time for those fruits to be ripe. But here's the problem, Scarmon." And here he looked deadly serious. "That ain't no easy task, getting' that fruit. It's a whole day's walk away, and another to get back. And it's the dog days o' summer, which means it'll be scorchin' hot. And last I checked, y'all are cold blooded. You ain't gonna enjoy this trip. You might not even survive it."

"I can handle deserts," Scarmon said, and he hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.

"Then at least take my advice," Armadillomon said, "and leave when the sun goes down. If yer travelin' at night, it'll be cool enough to avoid overheating for the first part of the trip. Go fast, but don't push it, or you'll be dead long before you even see that oasis. And after that… well, just hope yer partner can wait long enough for ya to get back. And hope no one else knows about that Phoenix Fruit, or else… well, you know."

Scarmon looked back over his shoulder at his partner, still unconscious and sweating on the cot. "Yeah," he said. "I know."

* * *

A few hours later, the sun began to set and Scarmon began to prepare for his journey. There was no telling how long he would be and Jin was clearly not going to be up and moving, so he grabbed as many dishes, pots and bowls as he could and placed them near Jin so he could have as much water as he needed. Armadillomon left them a very little bit of food, all that Musyamon would allow him to take, and that amounted to just a few nutrition bars. Scarmon ate a small part of one, just enough, he figured, to keep up his strength for the journey. He couldn't carry anything on his back simply because he couldn't tie anything to it. Armadillomon said he could make it there and back in two days, but then again, Scarmon was pretty quick on his feet. If he hurried, he might be back sooner.

And with Machinedramon's goons scouting for them, sooner was better than later.

"Scarmon?"

His head lifted when he heard Jin's voice weakly call for him.

"Jin! You're awake!"

"Yeah, I—ow! Ow ow ow!" He winced as he tried to sit up on his cot. "What the… what happened?"

"Just stay still, Jin," Scarmon told him. "Monochromon tore you open, remember?"

Jin hissed as he drew in a deep breath. "Barely… ow…" He blinked away tears. "This… it really hurts, Scarmon."

"I know, Jin. I'm sorry, I don't have any medicine right now, but I'm going to get some."

Jin looked at the wound for the first time. And his pale expression grew even paler. "That's… how bad is it?"

Scarmon was quiet.

"Don't lie to me, Scarmon. How bad is it?"

"Bad," he answered. "Really bad. Musyamon doesn't think you'll make it. He… he wanted to put you out of your misery. I told him you'd want to fight it."

Jin grinned weakly. "Good call. But this is going to take more than just medicine."

"This isn't ordinary medicine," he replied. He told him all about the Phoenix Fruit and his plan to obtain it. Jin listened, though after a few moments, he seemed to lose focus. "Jin, are you okay?"

"I'm cold." Scarmon had some blankets ready and pulled them over his partner. "Thanks. Anything to drink?" Scarmon motioned to the bowls of water. Jin slowly reached for one and brought it to his mouth, groaning as he sat up slightly and drank the whole thing down. "That's better."

"I'll move these closer for you."

"I appreciate it." Jin shivered, even though he felt slightly warmer under the blankets. "I guess you need to get going soon."

"I hate to leave," Scarmon said, "but yeah. I don't have a lot of time to waste."

"You know, when I was a kid," Jin said, his voice quiet, almost serene, "I wanted a dog. But you're way better than any dog. Loyal, protective… plus you can talk and you don't make me clean up your poop."

"Heh. Thanks."

"The two of us… we're kinda like this story I saw on TV. It was this show called 'A Dog of Flanders.' I saw it back in Japan, but it was about this kid in Europe. This kid had a dog who was his best friend. He and his dog are on their own and they go on a bunch of adventures. No parents, though there is a pretty girl and he loves to draw."

"Cute. What happens?"

"The boy and the dog freeze to death."

Scarmon stared at him. "That's a crappy ending," he said.

"I always thought so too," Jin said, and turned to stare at him, and there was a subtle desperation that Scarmon hadn't seen before. "I always wanted to change the ending to something better."

Scarmon nodded, understanding immediately. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Stay quiet. If you hear anyone creeping around outside, do your best to drag yourself somewhere and hide."

Jin nodded, though at the moment he wasn't sure how he could drag himself anywhere when he could barely sit up. He looked up at the ceiling for a few long moments, shivering again, wondering how much blood he had actually lost. "Scarmon?" he called. "Hey, Scarmon, I… Scarmon?" He turned his head and saw that the warehouse was empty. His partner was already gone.

_Hmph. I forgot to wish him good luck. He'll need it._ He reached to his side and realized that the bandage was actually a little damp. He had nearly soaked it completely through with blood. _Scratch that,_ he thought. _We'll _both_ need good luck if we're going to get out of this._

* * *

The soft sound of sand as he kicked it up was almost soothing as he galloped across the desert. It was nighttime and the wind was chilly. He had been across the desert before, of course, but now he was going all night, no water, no food, and he was running almost as fast as he could. He knew he should probably pace himself, but there was no telling how much time he really had, so if he managed to make it there and back and returned to a smoldering crater instead of a warehouse—

He pushed the thought from his mind and continued onward. Away from Endless City, out in the desert with its cloudless skies, the stars shined brightly overhead, the arid air making them twinkle even more clearly than usual. The two of them had taken the time to learn the motion of stars in the Digital World, so he was able to follow them and determine he was going roughly west. Then again, how could there really be a "west" when they were, technically, on the side of a crazy, gravity defying, planet-sized mountain?

These thoughts weren't getting him anywhere, but at least it was keeping his mind focused elsewhere. He focused on the silhouetted mountains in the distance, focusing on the long, thin formation that Armadillomon had pointed out, and continued bearing down on it. He ran and ran, past rocks and cacti, tumbleweeds and sagebrush, past snakes and scorpions, his black little body dashing through the darkness like a living shadow. He ran on for hours and hours until the early morning light began to illuminate the land. His legs ached and his breath felt like it was scorching his throat, and his heart was pounding.

And yet he saw that he was still only two thirds of the way to the mountain range.

He slowed, panting heavily, and finally collapsed in the sand.

"I can't do it…" he panted. "It's too far…"

_I always wanted to change the ending to something better._

"…No… I can do it. I can make it."

He caught his breath and enjoyed the coolness of the sand on his scaly body, even as the rising sun began to warm it. He needed to carry on before the real heat of the day kicked in. He stood, took a deep breath, and carried on at a more reasonable pace.

By the time the midday sun began to raise the heat to scorching, he was off the sand and hopping nimbly from rock to rock as he climbed the mountain. He followed twisting paths and scampered up loose rocks, careful not to lose his footing or risk sliding down. His body ached, his muscles practically begged him to stop, but he ignored the pain and finally came to the thin, column-like rock formation at the top of the mountain. Looking out in the distance, he scanned the wide desert before him and finally his eyes lit upon a tiny green dot far in the distance. He still had a few hours to go, he guessed, but he only rested for ten minutes before carrying on.

* * *

"Hey, Scarmon?" Jin asked.

"Yeah?"

"How do I look?"

"You look good. Really good!"

"Nice. I wish there were some hot girls around. Human ones."

"I'll get you a hot nurse."

"Thanks, pal."

"Let's see, human gals, human gals…"

Jin shivered, even though he knew it was actually fairly hot outside. He reached for another bowl of water, cursing as he accidentally smacked it with his hand, spilling some of the contents. He pulled it over and drank it, letting the bowl drop next to his cot, clattering on the concrete floor.

"Scarmon, can you get me some fresh water? That stuff's kinda warm." There was no reply. "Scarmon? Hey, buddy, where's that nurse?" He looked around the warehouse and saw there was nobody there.

"What's… what's going on?" he asked. He looked up at the ceiling and found it impossible to focus on the sight of the rafters above him. The pain in his side returned and he gritted his teeth. The pain now throbbed in time with his heartbeat, and so he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. He hummed a small song, some crappy folk song from the seventies his mother used to hum. His mother…

He heard her voice, the distinct sound of her humming, and opened his eyes. She stood over him, her eyes shut as she hummed, wearing her waitress uniform from work, her straight black hair drawn back into a ponytail. She opened her eyes, which were gray, like his, and stared down at him emotionlessly.

"Mom," he said. "Help me." A lump in his throat formed. _"Kaa-chan… itain da yo…_ it really hurts, Mom." Tears formed in his eyes. "Please help me, Mom… I don't wanna die…"

She knelt next to him, her expression not changing in the slightest, and she looked him in the eyes. "Jin Takamura," she said. "Shame on you."

"Mom… _please…"_

"Come on, you bad little boy. It's time to go." Her expression remained emotionless. "Come to Hell with me."

_"No!"_ he shouted and sat up. The vision cleared in an instant, but a searing pain ripped through his side and his vision went white. He groaned loudly and collapsed back on the cot. His hand went to his side and now the bandages were even wetter than before, even staining the sheets and the mattress with blood. He coldly realized that he might have just opened the wound again and a cold sense of doom fell upon him.

_I'm gonna die,_ he thought, and this realization was oddly calming, though he couldn't say why. Tears of pain and emotion filled his eyes and he stared up at the ceiling, watching the image swim before him.

"Scarmon... Hey, buddy... Mom said she'd be by to pick me up soon... Sorry to leave early..."

* * *

Scarmon's feet felt like they were made of iron. It was the early afternoon and he had finally reached the oasis. His feet felt the coolness of the short grass and he smelled the fresh water. He wanted to run to it, but he was nearly out of energy. He dragged his little body to the edge of the water and let himself collapse into it, the cold liquid splashing over his sun-scorched hide, alleviating his pain as he exhaled through his nostrils. When his body cooled, he stood and finally drank some water himself. He couldn't recall a time when he'd been so thirsty, and he gulped the water down greedily, wondering if he'd ever feel full. At last, when he felt fit to burst, he rolled onto his back and relaxed. He was so tired, he could take a nap right there…

No. He had to find Phoenix Fruit for Jin. He could sleep later.

"E-excuse me," said a voice. "A-are you a traveler too?"

Scarmon got to his feet and looked in the direction of the voice. Hidden among the reeds in the water of the oasis was a small digimon, his eyes barely peeking out from behind the foliage.

"Who are you?" Scarmon asked.

The creature emerged. It was about his size, and the water dripped from his green, scaly body as he stood on two legs. He looked to be a Rookie, and he had blue eyes, a pale yellow underbelly, and a long, thin snout with small, jagged teeth.

"My name is Gatormon," he said. "I'm so glad you're here!" He gave a delirious laugh and Scarmon eyed him suspiciously.

"I'm Scarmon. Listen, I'm not here for a visit," Scarmon said. "I came here for the Phoenix Fruit."

"Ah that's perfect, perfect!" Gatormon looked overjoyed. It was then that Scarmon noticed how worn out, tired, and _gaunt_ the creature was. His ribs were beginning to show under his leathery body and his eyes were sunken and his arms were thin and sticklike.

"I've been here for a week," Gatormon explained. "There's enough water to drink, and that's been enough, but I haven't had any food the entire time I've been here. But then I saw it… the Phoenix Fruit tree!" He pointed and Scarmon's heart soared. There it was: the tree with red-tipped palm fronds and two distinct yellow and red-striped fruits. The tree was a good 15 to 20 feet tall and the two fruits were dangling there tantalizingly.

"I've got to get one of those," Scarmon said.

"Yes, and while you're at it, you can get me one as well!"

Scarmon looked to Gatormon. That was it. He was nearly starving to death.

"Why can't you get one?" he asked.

"I have no attacks that can cut them down," he said. "I can't climb trees. And even if I did have an attack that could bring one down, I'm too weakened from hunger to use my special attacks. But you... could you?"

Scarmon took careful aim at the long stem of the fruit. A solid blast of his Plasma Fire attack would sear it right off.

_"Plasma Fire!"_ he attacked. But nothing emanated from his jaws.

"No… oh no…" Gatormon groaned. "You're too weakened as well… I can't believe—"

"Hold on," Scarmon said. "I can climb trees, but my legs are killing me. I probably can't do this on my own, but if you can give me a lift, I think I can reach the curve of the tree. Just get me halfway up it and I'll get myself the rest of the way."

"Ah, yes! Yes, good idea!" Gatormon happily walked over to the side of the tree, putting his arms on it as he leaned against it. "Okay, Scarmon, you get a running start, use my head as a stepping stone, and see if you can get to the upper curve of the tree!"

Scarmon nodded. It was a good plan, assuming he had enough leg power to build up enough speed and a high enough jump. Still, it was the only recourse, and the clock was still ticking.

"Okay, ready?"

"Ready!"

Scarmon charged at Gatormon, made a flying leap and landed on his head, then pushed with all his might to reach the upper part of the tree. He dug in with his claws and tried to hang on for all he was worth. Though he slipped momentarily and his poor legs practically screamed in agony, he managed to hold on. As Gatormon cheered, he edged his way up the tree, eventually reaching the height level of the fruit. It was just out of reach, so with his last ounce of strength, he jumped from the trunk of the tree, snatching the fruit in his jaws and landing roughly on the ground.

It was safe. He had done it. He could smell the sweet aroma of the fruit even as he held it. But then a cold realization hit him: he would never make it back to Jin. The journey was too hard, and too long, and he had nothing left to give. There was no way he could replenish his strength out here in the desert, unless…

He realized what he had to do. He sank his teeth into the fruit, remembering that Armadillomon told him to eat the whole thing in order to completely heal.

"Yes, yes," Gatormon said. "After only a short time, your wounds will heal," he said eagerly, "and you'll be back to full strength. Then you can get the other fruit!"

Scarmon nodded. He waited patiently, but soon he felt a charge of energy rush through him. His sun-baked hide no longer ached, his limbs felt lighter than air, and he no longer felt hunger, thirst, or even fatigue. It was as if the last 48 hours had never occurred at all. This truly was the miraculous cure-all that Armadillomon had promised.

"Okay, time for the other one," Scarmon said. He effortlessly scampered up the tree on his own now, and snatched the second fruit, holding it carefully between his teeth without piercing it.

"At last!" Gatormon said, running to him. "I'm so hungry, give it here!"

Scarmon jumped back and Gatormon fell face first into the grass when he dove for the fruit. He looked up at Scarmon with uncomprehending eyes. "What… but why? I... I helped you!"

"I'm sorry, Gatormon," he said. "I really am, but I can't give this to you. Someone else needs it."

"Just give me half."

"No."

"A bite! Please, I'm nearly dead as it is, I could be dead by nightfall, just give me something to ease the hunger!"

"I can't."

_"Please!"_

"The Phoenix Fruit only works if you eat the whole thing. And I know someone else who needs it."

Gatormon looked at him with crazed, hate-filled eyes as he crawled toward him. "You bastard…" he growled. "You horrible, scaly, _backstabbing, yellow-eyed, black demon!"_

Scarmon turned to go, slowly at first, but then broke into a run. As he charged back through the desert, back toward the Endless City, he heard Gatormon's enraged scream. _"You better hope I don't run into you again, or you'll regret it! I'll never forgive you for leaving me to die! __**I'll get you for this, Scarmon!"**_

* * *

"Jin," a voice called. His eyes fluttered. "Jin, wake up." He opened them and saw the blurry, ethereal shape of something black with yellow eyes. He reacted not with fear, but with dull uncomprehension.

"Jin, it's me, Scarmon."

He blinked and finally saw his partner standing next to him. "Oh—ow!" he grunted. "Did you bring the hot nurse?"

Scarmon blinked. "Uh… no, but I did bring the medicine." He plopped the fruit on Jin's chest. Jin looked at it dully.

"Eat it, Jin."

Jin tried to take a bite, but the small bit he managed to take off filled him with nausea and he spat it back out.

"Jin, no! You've got to eat the whole thing!"

"I can't, pal… I've got no strength… can't even stomach trying to chew it."

Scarmon's mind raced. This was a disaster. He had this miracle cure here, but now there was no way for Jin to take it! How could he come this far only to fail?

"No," he said. "I hunted this damn thing down without giving up and I'm going to get it inside your gut without giving up."

_They are tenacious and never give up. If you send a dog to hunt down what you are looking for, it will go after it without fail._

"What was that?" Jin asked.

"I said I'm not giving up."

"Not you, there was… meh, never mind…"

Scarmon did choose to pay it no mind and placed the fruit in an empty bowl. This was probably going to gross out Jin later, but there was no choice left. He took the fruit in his jaws and began to chew it, letting no juice trickle down his throat. Bit by bit, he chewed it up and spat it back out into another bowl until it was a fine puree. When he was done, he brought the bowl over to Jin.

"Can you eat this, Jin?"

Jin took the bowl and slurped down the puree. After a moment, he swallowed and Scarmon relaxed. "Yeah," Jin said. "I think I can manage this. Hey, I didn't know we had a blender."

"Uh… yeah, it's great. Real quiet."

After a time, Jin managed to down the entire bowl. His breathing slowed and he closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

It was the next morning when Scarmon awoke. He yawned and stretched his little body when he heard a sound that made his blood run cold.

It was the sound of metallic feet and tank treads. And another voice, this time coming from higher up. He sprinted to the window. Coming right for the warehouse was a small platoon of Tankmon, Gardromon, two Devidramon, and a flying Gigadramon. They were caught.

"Jin! Wake up, Jin!" Scarmon hissed. "I don't know if you're feeling up to snuff, but even if not, we've got to move."

Jin made no move, gave no sign of even hearing him.

"Jin!" Scarmon said, a little louder than before. Finally, he just yelled, desperately, _"JIN!"_

And Jin Takamura's eye popped wide open.

* * *

"I heard a sound come from that warehouse," Devidramon said. "I'm sure of it!"

"You in there!" Gigadramon shouted, his voice echoing over the whole area. "Come out or we level the building. I'm going to count down from three, and when I'm done, the violence begins!" He laughed menacingly. "Here I go… _Three…"_

No response.

_"Two…"_

No response again. He took a breath, charging up his weapons and prepared to speak again.

The rooftop exploded outward and a black, humanoid figure shot right at him. There was a flash of metal claws and Gigadramon's eyes went wide as a Carnagemon's claws impaled him through the neck.

_"One," _Carnagemon said. Gigadramon shattered into dust and then the demonic Mega turned to the others who stared up at him in horror as gravity took hold and he began to fall towards them. _"He's done. I guess now the violence begins."_

* * *

Jin Takamura, feeling fresh as a daisy, strolled over to where Carnagemon had pinned Devidramon to the ground, his claws piercing his shoulder to prevent him from escaping.

"I've got a question for you," he said. "Where's your boss?"

"I don't know, I swear!" Devidramon cried.

"They never do," Jin said. "Oh well, I guess that's… oh, wait, there is one more thing I'd like to ask." Jin smiled almost good-naturedly at the Devidramon. "What's today's date?"

Devidramon blinked, not sure if Jin was serious, but apparently he was. "It's… Eighth month, sixteenth day."

Jin nodded, apparently happy to hear that. "That's great. Hey, Carnagemon, guess what? It's my birthday! I am officially a teenager!"

_"Happy birthday, Jin!" _Carnagemon said.

"Yeah, happy birthday!" the Devidramon said.

"Quiet, you," Jin snapped. He looked at Devidramon's arm and noticed the crude skull on it. It gave him an idea. He went back inside the warehouse and returned with a small can of white paint and a brush. He took off his shirt and used the brush to paint something on it before putting it back on. Carnagemon and Devidramon saw that he had sketched a simple skull-and-crossbones design on his shirt and his expression was a mixture of simple joy and profound menace.

"My birthday is the same day as the Feast of St. Roch. A man told me once that he was the patron saint of dogs and the guardian against the plague. Interesting guy. Well, Devidramon, I want you to know that I'm sharing my birthday fortune and letting you go. But only to deliver a message." He got down and stared the huge Devidramon right in the eye and his gaze was so focused, so intense, that he actually cowered before the small human. "Tell all the evil digimon you meet that we're coming for them. Tell them the hounds of hell are coming to tear them apart, and that once we catch their scent, we will find them without fail. Like a horrible disease, we will take them all down, and only those who show us their respect and ask for our aid will be spared."

"What kind of Digidestined _are_ you?" Devidramon whimpered.

"Digidestined is what they call the designated 'heroes' who played nice and then ran off when things got too messy for them. Call us… The Plague."

Jin snapped his fingers and Carnagemon released Devidramon. The black-winged beast flew away with one of his wings partially ripped and he bobbed and wavered feebly, whimpering as he went.

Carnagemon de-digivolved back to Scarmon and grinned up at his partner.

"Is there anything you want for your birthday, Jin?" he asked.

"Hey, I got to live to see it," he replied. "That's the best present I could ask for." He stooped down and gave Scarmon a pat on the head. "Thanks, pal."

"Jin… Jin, look!"

The two of them looked up and saw the sky begin to shimmer and waver and suddenly huge stripes formed in the deep blue. Jin gawked at what he saw take form.

"It's… that's Earth!" he gasped. "That's my home planet in the sky!"

"What's it doing up there?"

Jin stared for a long while, then smiled and broke into a high-pitched, strained laugh. "Of course… it's a sign that I'm on the right track. Earth is just in reach now… if we eliminate the evil digimon, I'll finally be able to return home. I'll finally be free." He took a few steps as Scarmon took his place beside him.

"Jin?" Scarmon asked. "Where do we go next?"

"Wherever the hunt takes us," Jin replied. "We'll travel the face of the Digital World and wipe it clean. Just the two of us, tracking down our prey like a pack of hungry dogs."

Scarmon grinned. "Wherever you lead, I'll follow."

Jin stopped for a moment. Looking thoughtful, then mischievous, he knelt down and pet Scarmon on the head. The small digimon closed his eyes and pushed his head into the boy's hand, clearly appreciating the sensation.

"Good boy," Jin said. "Good boy."

_**Carpe Canis**_

* * *

_Author's Endnote: I hope you've enjoyed this little bonus side-story. If you're not familiar with my other work and have not examined the other notes, I'll remind you that Jin and Scarmon are also found in my novel-sized story "Ancient Enemy," still ongoing as of this writing. May you go in peace, and may you find a friend as loyal and faithful as a trusty dog._

…_Or digimon._


End file.
